This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project
to make the world's books discoverable online.
It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject
to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books
are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often difficult to discover.
Marks, notations and other marginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the
publisher to a library and finally to you.
Usage guidelines
Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the
public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing this resource, we have taken steps to
prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying.
We also ask that you:
+ Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for
personal, non-commercial purposes.
+ Refrain from automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine
translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the
use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help.
+ Maintain attribution The Google "watermark" you see on each file is essential for informing people about this project and helping them find
additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it.
+ Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just
because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other
countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of
any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner
anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liability can be quite severe.
About Google Book Search
Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers
discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web
at http : //books . google . com/|
Digitized by
Google
i
ilr^ IUZ% e. 72.
' Digitized by CjOOQ IC
>s
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by CjOOQ IC
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
THK
CATHOLIC
Mns^^nt unXf Sle0fKttt^
VOL. XI.
MARCH TO JULY, 1860.
'OK* wotB om uvatBMHat.'
"IWIi"
Eontron t
PUBLISHED BY T. BOOKER, 9, RUPERT STREET,
LXICBSTEB aqOABB ;
AT 48a. pater NOSTER ROWt
AMD T. JOMES, 88, PATEB MOBTEB BOW.
MSOCCL.
Digitized by LjOOQ iC
hy T. Booker, at fh« Metropolitan CatJkoUo Ptintbig OAee, 0, Bupert Street,
Ldoeafeer Square.
Digitized by CjOOQ IC
INDEX.
Agapemone, (the) • . 66
Ancient and MedisBYal Art 129
Andrea de Jorio . . .199
Address. By the Editor . 183
Age we live in. By the
Editor 241
Angliean Church . . . 252
Achilli, Sketch of his Life 254
Austria, Decree on the
Church and Holy See . 264
America, a Glimpse of . 269
Albertus Magnus . . . 813
Allocution of the Pope . 321
Acts of the Secret Con-
sistory ...... 325
Archbishop of Turin . . 339
Blanqui, (M.) Recollec-
tions of 18
Batburst, Rose .... 20
Browne, Letter from E.
G. Kirwan .... 60
Births, 68, 132, 204, 268, 340
Brooke, Sir J., Rajah of
Sarawak 70
Blind Traveller, (the) . 78
Biblical Lore . . . .196
Bideford Church . . .196
Bible Catholic, (the) . . 205
Catholic and Protestant
Charity. By the Editor 1
Colonization and Chris-
tianity 11
Cardinal Ruffo .... 23
Chartists 21
Commercial Traveller . . 50
Compitum . . 55, 253, 258
Complete Gregorian Plain
Chant Manual ... 55
Conversion of England, on
the. Letters from the
Hon. and Rev. G. Spen-
cer . 59,111,187,256,315
Conversions 65, 125, 194, 263
334
Catechism of Classical
Mythology . . . .110
Christianity and the
Church. ..... 110
Counting-house Compa-
nion 110
FAOV
Catholic Education . .115
Confirmation in Dublin . 129
Connelly v. Connelly,
Arches Court. . . .131
Children of Mary . . .185
Child's Guide to Devotion 185
Catholic Poor School, Re-
port 186
Cardinal Antonelli and
Prince Doria . . . .186
Convocations . . . 193
Catholic High Sheriff. . 19a
Catholic Primate of all
Ireland. . . . 197, 259
Chapel Rock. , ... 233
Catholic Witnesses . • 267
Changed 280
Canonization of P. Clftver 326
Catholic Chapel, Leyland 33(1
Catholic Church, Penrith 336
Corpus Christi .... 337
Devotions fcH* the Quarant,
Ore 57
Deaths 68, 132, 204, 268, 340
Duchesse de Berri . . 74
Day at Tivoli . . » . 108
Dressed^up Figures of the
B. V. M 114
Dnimmond, Sir William 294
Diary of Martha Bethune
Baliol 802
Erdington, Church at 67, 317
Education Bill . . 195, 331
Education, Ireland. . . 332
Father Felix .... 110
Florins, (the) .... 127
Few Words of Hope . .314
Gentili, Dr 19
Gorham (the) Case, or
Chase after Truth . .103
Gorham v, the Bishop of
Exeter — Privy Council
Judgment 117
Gorham and Mr. Dennison 122
Gorham and the Bishop
of Exeter. — Queen's
Bench Judgment . . 202
Gorham and the Bishop
of Worcester . . . 262
Digitized by
Google
iT.
INDEX
Oell, Sir William . . » 294
Ck>rliam Case, Great Meet-
ing on the .... 335
Hunt, Murder of Mr. and
Mrs. . 24
Hour and the Motive, 25, 85
225, 281
Haynes Bayly .... 159
Home Wail. ByFuimus, 228
Hungary aod the Hunga-
rian Struggle .... 313
Inside the Coffin. By
Fulmus 8
Inscriptions on Church
Bells 80
Irish Colleges, Letter from
Dr. Murray .... 64
Isolation. By Fuimus . 81
Influences of National
Faith. By the Editor, 93
Ince's Outlines . . • .109
Irish College, Paris . . 126
Immaculate Conception of
the B. V. M. ... 198
Illumination of St. Peter's, 265
Julia Ormond .... 185
Joys of Life .... 102
Kiirush .... 130, 190
Leaves from my Journal, 47
Lent in London ... 57
Lenten Indnlt for the Lon-
don District .... 61
Leotade, Death of Frere, 67
Mathias, Mr 22
Medals, Papal, for Spanish
Soldiers 67
Marriages, 68^ 132, 204, 268,
340
M. Angelo's Last Judg-
ment 129
Metropolitan Catholic Lib-
rary 253
Maskell,Rev.W. ... 260
Miracle at Rimini . . .319'
Maynooth 331
Metropolitan Interments
Bill 832
Nelson and his Column . 54
Newman s Discourses • 190
Nuns in Cambridge . .196
Oratory, (the) .... 48
Oath of Supi*emaoy • . 127
Paintiqg, at St George . 50
Prior Park . . , • . 64
Plus d'Enseignement
Mixte ...... Ill
Papal SpatQS .... . 126
PersQnal Appearance of
His Holiness ... 19%
Phillpotts^Dr.to the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury . 196
Pope's, (the) Return to
Rome ...... 198
Pastoral Letter. By Dr.
Wiseman 827
Becolle<?tions of Eminent
Men . . 14, 70, 159, 294
Repeal of Penal Acts
against Catholics . • 60
Should Rents be Lowered i
JNo.* . . . . 99
Silbury Hill and Barrows, 53
Sister of Charity . . .109
Spry, Dr., and llie Bishop
of Exeter 125
Spirit of the Church . . 169
Sellon, Miss, and Lord
Campbell . . . . .191
Salisbury, Bishop of . . 61
Salvatoiri, Death of . . 59
Superstition in Lincoln-
shire 197
Submission to the Church, 252
Sick Calls . . . . .253
Stained Glass^ Historical
Sketch of 288
Sister Churches . • . 326
Thought and Feeling • .181
Tears on the Diadem • , 66
Versesfor the Month, An-
nunciation .... 45
Easter Sunday ... 101
Whit-sunday. . . . 155
St. John Baptist . • 231
Virgil's Infernal Regions, 133
Vicars - Apostolic, their
Annual Meeting . • 191
Very Reverend, Title, 58, 257
Wyndham, Burial of Mrs.
alive 51
Zenosius M
Digitized by
Google
THE CATHOLIC
REGISTER AND MAGAZINE.
No. LXI. March, 1850. Vol. XI.
CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT CHAEITY.
BY THE EDITOR.
'^Please, Sir, bestow a copper on a distressed tradesmaiii"
exclaims the half sturdy, half subdued tratup,- sulkily touching
his hat as he passes you on the turnpike road.
" Do give me a halfpenny, Sir, in charity ! Mother's very ill,
and m diank you very much ! " whines the shivering urchua as.
he runs along at your side.
^' Here I am, your honour ; matches and all ! '' cries the dis-
abled tar in the streets of Bath, as, in one hand, he holds out his
straw hat for the expected dole, and, in the other, exhibits the
bundle of matches and the whisp of stay laces which the police
of the city require him to offer for sale under pain of being>
taken up as a beggar.
^^ I am starving," the squalid wretch writes with chalk in large
letters on the London pavement, and lays him silently down:
beside his mute appeal.
These are all Protestant beggars, gentle reader. They appeal
to your sensibilities merely. In England, you are never adced
to bestow your alms for the love of God.
But let us not say " never." The warm-hearted. Catholic
Irish wanderers cannot always restrain the habits of their mind*
Though sad experience may have taught ihem that, in thi&
country, a petition does not gain strength by being backed by
the love of God or of the Blessed Virgin, yet the holy motiver
will, at times, be added ; and then, if their appeal be successful^,
how ferveaitly they call upon all the saints to reward jfOfal
how piously Uiey kneel down in a retired no^k in^tjie way-sida
VOL. XI. B
Digitized by
Google
2 CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT CHARITY.
to pray for the object whioh you have recommended to their
sympathy ! Bagged, nimedy but yet hopeful, the father and
mother of the gang will kneel there together ; while the tattered
and barefooted children look in amazement from their unusually-
excited parents to the stranger who has proved his brotherhood
in faith by making that holy sign which they had begun to think
was scorned by all well dressed and prosperous people.
The English Protestant looks on, and mocks their superstition
and their exaggerated gratitude.
Which of the saints was it who said that he could never refuse
charity when it was asked of him for the love of God ?
We do not mean to assert that Protestants, in bestowing alms,
are uninfluenced by pious motives: our object is to point out the
different modes of appeal which obtain in Catholic and in here-
tical countries. The motive may exist in the charitable of other
religions, but it is unacknowledged. It is unacknowledged on
the part of the giver ; it is not appealed to on the part of the
suppliant. Whence, we ask, is derived this so widely -different
system ? Climate, race, temperament cannot have occasioned
it: for Catholics of the same races and countries, feel as Catholics
do all over the world. Protestants read the Bible : they know
that the reward promised to the giver of the ^^ cup of cold water '*
is promised to the one who bestows it in His name. We fear,
indeed, that Protestantism has so throvni cold water over the
affections of its votaries, that they forget the motive even when
they would comply with the injunction.
How different is the feeling which, in Catholic countries,
unites the beggar and his patron ! Members of the same com-
munity of faith, a community of feeling runs from one to the
other end of the social chain. The beggar is not there looked
down upon as an outcast : poverty is not there, as Sidney Smith
says it is in this country, *^ infamous.'^ Beggars have been
canonized : Lazarus has been declared to be in Abraham^s
bosom: his prayers may yet avail the rich man here below.
Honoured of God, why should poverty be considered dishonour-
able by man ? And with us, I am solaced to say that is not so
considered. The humble mendicant, who daily takes his place
at the accustomed comer of a foreign street as regularly as the
London urchin seeks his well- swept "crossing," feels no abase-
ment when he holds out his cap to the richer neighbour who
passes near him : and the latter recognises the suppliant as one
of the same kind as himself; recognises his daim to sympathy
by considerately touching his hat in answer to the poor man^s
sUent appeal.
We would not deny but that the charity of Catholics may be
excessive : we would not deny but that they give alms incon-
Digitized by
Google
CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT CHA&ITY. 3..
siderately, often inJQdioiously because spontaneously : we would
not deny bat that the unmeasured alms of Gatholio countries
may tend to foster idleness, and, destroying the feeling of self-
dependence, produce that difference which all travellers observe
between the lower classes of Catholic and Protestant states,
between the population of the Catholic and Protestant cantons
of Switzerland. We admit that, in this country. Catholic fami-
lies are too apt to allow beggars to hang, in idleness, round their
mansions; considering themselves provided for during the winter
if they can take possession of a shed, an outhouse, or a hovel
upon their domain : but who will say that even the excess of
this warm-hearted, unreasoning charity is not preferable to the
Protestant system which builds workhouses and appoints paid:
officers to relieve the poor with cold-blooded decorum, and to
test their sorrows and dieir claims with the legal nicety of act-of-
Parliament guagers?
Immense are the sums legally collected in England for the
parochial relief of the poor; immense are the sums freely
bestowed by religious zeal or sectarian bigotry to extend what
is called gospel light amongst the heathen ; to establish mission-
ary farmers, with their wives and children, upon the best lands
at the antipodes ; to scatter Bibles amongst those who cannot
read. We admit the decorum with which all this is done ; but
we seek in vain for the warm-hearted sympathy of Catholic
charity. It is still the rich who relieve the poor. It is not one
feUow-christian bestowing upon another fellow-christian that of
which he is only the steward. ^^ Do not thank, me,** we once .
heard a Catholic exclaim to one of these Protestant tramps
whom she had relieved, and who humbly told his unspiritualized
thanks : '^ Do not thank me : thank the good God who enabled .
me to help you. I have only done my duty : but pray for me.**
How the unchristian vagabond stared !
^'Eh Ghristiani!** cries the Tuscan beggar beside the thronged
thoroughfare where thousands come out to inhale the sultry'
evening air: ^^dove andate Christiani? Andate mangiar del
cocomero. Ma non fa caldo: non n'avete di bisogno. Date mi
piuttosto il vostro quatrinello per I'amor di Dio e della San-
tissima Virgine — Stop Christians ! where are you gomg ? You
are going to buy slices of water melon at the stalls. But the
weather is not hot : you do not need them. Give me rather,
give me your penny for the love of God and the Blessed.
Virgin."
Such language reads strange in English ; but we think it is
Christian : and we own that we like Uie tone of equality that
pervades it, — ^based, as it is, upon that bond of union which
the epithet ^^ Christiani*' recalls to all.
B 2
Digitized by
Google
4 CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT CHABITY.
But not to this world alone is that bond of saored union con-
fined. How often have we seen the humble suppliant pass
from chair to chair in a French church, quietly soliciting that
alms the bestowal of which during prayers would^ in England,
be thought to interrupt the devotion which, on the contrary, it
sanctifies ! How ofiien have we seen such a humble suppliant,
when the sacristan came round to collect alms that prayers
might be offered for the souls in purgatory, drop, into his bag,
the coin just received, and hope that the dear one for whom
he wept might reap some benefit from the great sacrificial
offering he thus contributed to procure !
^^Be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another,
being lovers of the birotherhood, merciful, modest, humble.**
And in lieu of these holy sympathies, English Protestantism
has established poor laws; English Protestantism has built
union workhouses where
■ Pallentes habitant Morbi, tristisque senectus,
Et Metus, et malasuada Fames, et turpis Egestas,
Lethumque, Laborque :
and cold officials walk, periodically, round the buildings and
see that decrepitude and disease, childhood and old age, are
clad, fed and cared for with the method and exactness of an
utilitarian, who looks to the expenditure of his money, rather
than with the sj'mpalhy of a Christian greeting an equal soul.
And yet the establishment of these workhouses is a noble feature
in the country. Practically speaking and looking only to its
physical bearings, it is a fine spectacle to see such asylums for
the destitute provided in every district of the land. Were any
traveller returning from a far-off country to tell us that, in that
distant region, the whole kingdom was divided into districts:
that in every district was maintained a well-built, commodious
mansion, superintended by a steady master and matron, in
which all who were unable to find employment, orphan children
and all who were brought to distress bv sickness, improvidence,
or their own ill conduct, were received and supported as long
as they chose to stay; were lodged in warm rooms; well clothed;
well fed ; attended regularly by a surgeon appointed to watch
over their health ; that a school master and mistress we're pro-
vided for the children ; that they were assembled, morning and
evening, for family prayers, and that the ministers of their
religion were admitted, at all times, to see them; that they
were subject to no extraordinary labour to defray the expenses
of the establishment ; and that the principal residents of the
neighbourhood weekly met to hear and redress their grievances
— ^how should we esteem the beneficence of that distant people !
Digitized by
Google
CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT CHARITY. A
But yet the Christian philosopher would understand at onoe
that such an establishment could only have originated, could
only have been needed in a country where Protestantism had
dried up all the sympathies which nature had implanted in the
human breast and which revelation had improved and sanctified.
A Christian philosopher would have anticipated that breaking
up of all family ties, that absence of kindliness and community of
feeling between the rich and the poor which has filled England
with suspicion and reserve, pride and immorality, peculation
and stinginess. "I pay poor rates" is the reply that, unbidden,
arises to the lips of most men when appealed to for especial assist-
ance : "I pay poor rates: apply to the parish: if I relieve you
I shall be only saving the rates, and shall, to that amount, be
helping the other rate payers who are bound to support you.
You are bashful, are you ? — ^you recoil from the exposure, from
the abasement of parochial assistance ? I am sorry for your
fine feelings, but I cannot afford to indulge them : besides, there
is no disgrace in the application : you have a right to parish
pay: the law gives it to you; and you are a fool S you do not
take it.''
^'I support father!" exclaims an able bodied man, astounded
at what seems to him so strange a proposition. ^ Let him go
and get parish pay. Why should I slave for he ? Other old
folks are supported out of the rates. I can spend my earnings
on myself. Why, you will ask me next to support grandfather
and brothers and sisters ! What is the union and the relieving
officer good for, I should like to know? Til hang myself rather
than support father ! "
''Why should I stay here and slave for Betsey and all these
brats?'' the overworked and underfed labourer at first timidly
asks himself. ''Every child takes bread out of my mouth.
How well to do I shotdd be with my wages if I had no one but
myself to keep! Betsey would apply to the guardians: the
parish would be obliged to maintain her and the children."
What was at first a timid thought, gradually forms itself into a pur-
pose ; and he who was an affectionate and would have been a
self-denying husband and father, runs from his home — pursued
by a magistrate's warrant for deserting his wife and children.
Such are the consequences of methodized Protestant charity :
such are the feelings which every resident in a rural parish in
England knows to be engendered and fostered by our boasted
system of parochial relief. From Protestantism, that system
sprang: to Protestantism and its forced charities, can alone be
traced that absence of domestic affection and solicitude which
^characterises the English peasantry. Children in England havp
been brought up to consider that ihey owe to theur parents no
Digitized by
Google
6 CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT CHARITY.
caxe and support in sickness and old age: the parish, they have
been taught to think, will provide for them. Parents have been
made to feel indifference to the moral conduct and education of
their children ; — if they turn out ill and are not trained to habits
of industry that may enable them to earn their livelihood, the
parish, they say, must provide for them. Youths, scarcely
beyond the age of childhood, have been encouraged to contract
imprudent marriages — often without possessing so much as
would enable them to provide the most scanty articles of furni-
ture; the parish, they know, must provide for their wives and
offspring. Husbands have been withheld by no dread of the
consequent bereavement their flight would otherwise entail, from
abandoning their wives and young children : — the parish, they
knew, would provide for them. Oh, doubly, trebly cursed in
the heart of every well-wisher of his race ought to be this fatal
parish provision ! Fatal to the giver, fatal to the receiver :
entailing upon the one, indifference, hardness of heart, distrust
and suspicion: upon the other, pride, recklessness, improvi-
dence ; the neglect of all social duties ; the disrupture of all
family ties ! All that the heart should hold most dear, withers
beneath its influence: all that heaven has pointed out as its
most favourite virtues, change, beneath its baneful spell, into
the most opposite and detested vices.
Oh, may Catholicity preserve poor Ireland from the withering
effects of this last curse which England has inflicted upon her !
If it does, it will effect a greater triumph than it has wrought
by maintaining itself in the hearts of the people through three
centuries of religious persecution. The charities of life may
be more easily, because more imperceptibly, extinguished than
can the faith of nations be changed. Those charities are essen-
tially Catholic. In Catholic countries, amongst Catholics only,
do diey exist as a characteristic, as a distinguishing element in
the mind of each one. Legal enactments are not there requisite
to extract the contributions of the charitable. If any member
of society there incurs extraordinary expense for the amusement
of those of his own class, one of the number vrill call upon and
remind him that the poor, also, should partake of his festivity.
They, indeed, "have the poor always with them:** — not excluded
from their walks, from their gardens, from their parks, from
their museums as if they were of as distinct a species as the
American considers the negro to be : — not cowed and well
trained to look on the rich at a distance, with unmeaning,
stolid, unsympathising respect : but avowing sensibilities akin
to theirs ; feeling and expressing an interest in that which they
perceive to interest them : and referring ever to heaven as the
common home of both classes, where both will again be equal.
Digitized by
Google
CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT CHARITY. 7
^^ Bella giovane!^* said an old beggar-woman at the door of
the church at Loretto, fixing her eyes upon a young English
traveller who, with tenderness in which she could sympathise
and participate, supported a fair girl upon his arm : — *^ Belli
sposi tutti e due," she said singling them out from their party.
^'Abbiate anni felici e poi il paradise! Datemi un bajocco per
Tamor della Madonna — ^What a beautiful girl ! what a fair
couple ! May you have years of happiness and then paradise !
Give me a penny for the love of the Blessed Virgin !**
Two-thirds of the prayer of that beggar woman have been,
we trust, fdlfilled. But often, in after life that young couple
thought of their pilgrimage to Loretto, and of the pious appeal
of the warm-hearted Italian beggar, as they contrasted it with
the decorous but unspiritual, unsanctified requests of Protes-
tants exclaiming — *^ Do, Sir, do my lady bestow a charity, and
ril be veiy much obliged to you."
Even our old and popularly-sentimental songs record and
appeal to no spiritual motive for alms-giving: —
" Pity, kind gentleman ! friend of humanity!
Give but relief and I will be gone."
In these two lines of a beautiftil, familiar ballad, every motive
is pressed into the service of the suppliant tha^ is supposed
best to recommend the petition. But Ihe ^^kind gentleman** —
not the fellow Christian, is addressed: the ^'fiiend of humanity**
— ^the friend of his human kind, by his good nature, by his
philanthropy, is implored to pity the wanderer's distress. A
motive is, to be sure, superadded : what is it ? Is it the love
of God? We have seen that such it would be in Catholic
countries : but the song is made for Protestant England :
"Give but relief,** it says, "and**— what? "and I will be gone.**
The next two lines of the same song are equally characteristic
of the motives that are supposed, by the ballad maker, to actuate
those who are appealed to : —
" I have two little brothers at home. When they're old enough,
They shall work hard your gifts to repay."
They shall not pray for you : my mother, who "thinks of the
days that will never return,** will not pray for you : God him-
self will not reward you — at all events, we will not ask Him to
do so : we apply to yon on an utilitarian principle only ; we
"will work hard your gifl» to repay!**
Digitized by
Google
INSIDE THE COFFIN.
1
I asVd how long dead bodies wear
Their lingering form of flesh : how soon
The very muscles disappear
And nought is left but dust and bone.
2
The day she died, I bade them close
Her coflSn. Thetij I strove to bear
The thought of her unchang'd — a rose
Just pluckM, but still unfaded-fair.
3
But nowj it grieves me ; and I bid
Imagination pierce the gloom
And nestle 'neath the coffin lid : —
Deep — deep within thy silent tomb ;
4
}And notice how thou farest : how
That face and form I lov'd so well
Is chang'd and changing — fast or slow.
All this my wayward fancies tell.
5
And then I brood on every change ;
And know and see and feel it all.
Truth, fancy, hope, together range
Down there with thee — ^but can't appal.
6 -
I see the white foam gathering slow
On lips where love was wont to reign^
And think my hand should wipe them now : —
In vain : — ^it oozes forth again.
7
I see those lips more liyid grow ;
Those cheeks, so dimpled, round and fidr
' And full of bloom, sink darkling low
And purple stains discolouring wear.
8
Those eyelids that, with trembling haste,
I closM on all that gave me light.
Sink moist and clammy — all effaced
Their very shape. I see the might
Digitized by
Google
INSIDE THE COFFIir.
9
Of foul oorraption stealing o'er
Those limbs belov*d — dismantling all.
I watoh it, mark it more and more
I would partake death's festival
10
With thee : would cast my spirit down
Within thy coffin, — ^lay me there
And clasp those limbs as I have done :— *
Mine still and ever — ^foul or fair !
11
Thus hand to hand and cheek to cheek,
What heed I all corruption brings ?
The very worms are her. I seek
• And watch and love the creeping things.
12
For they are her and she is them,
And I am her and they are me.
Wreathed with her living diadem,
Here, living, should my dwelling be.
13
Here, living, would I dwell with her.
No horror hath this slime for me.
I would not earthly joy prefer
To lying thus eternally.
14
Eternally with her ?....Not so !
A change is wrought. My fancy tells
All these have pass'd away : and, lo !
Nought lives there now or festering swells.
16
Imagination wanders home
From that dear resting place, and gives
The latest news from Mary's tomb : —
Within that coffin, nothing lives !
16
That flesh, once form'd in beauty's mouldy
So fiill of life and light and play ;
Then carried hence, pale, stiff and cold ;
Then changed and shrunk from day to day ;
17
Is gone, with all that on it fed.
AH, self-consum'd, is wasted ; done :
And where I lov'd to lay my head
In thought, is nothing. AH is gone.
Digitized by
Google
10 INSIDE THE COFFIN.
18
All save tbose bones, dry, sapless, tall.
Straight-laid upon the leaden floor.
How large the coffin seems ! How small
The space they'll need for evermore !
19
How dry and shrivell'd ! Yet 'tis they
Upbore that form so fondly lov'd.
That skull upon my shoulder lay.
Those feet to meet me lightly movM.
20
Those nerveless arms, they used to cling
Around my neck and fondly press.
That spider hand Her wedding ring-
Good Grod, 'tis there ! Oh, Thou didst bless
21
That ring, my God, long years ago.
That ring she truly wore for me.
Her fleshless finger wears it now —
Will wear it thus eternally.
22
This slim, long-^jointed skeleton
Is that same white, full, tapering hand
I plac'd that ring so fondly on. —
Oh Mary ! Mary ! thou didst stand
23
Beside me then in youthful pride.
I press'd that hand, and vow'd the vow.
Once more I clasp it Oh, my bride,
My love, my wife, I ask thee now
24
Have I not kept it ? — ^Was thy life
Not blest with love and happiness ? —
I could not love thee more, my wife ;
And now I cannot love thee less !
25
For 'neath thy grave, my thoughts will come
To mourn and dream and love and pray.
I have no other earthly home
Where I may spend life's weary day.
26
And thus, my Mary, thus I cling
To all that now is left of thee.
God save thy spirit ! — Save and bring
Our souls together speedily.
Axminster^ 9ih Oct. 1849. FuiMUS.
Digitized by
Google
11
COLONIZATION AND CHRISTIANITY.
Colonization is no longer considered as a means of propaga-
ting the faith. Emigration is now generally understood to be
the settlement of agriculturists on lands frequented by hunter
tribes ; but it has not always been so considered : and with the
wide field recently opened to Christianity in Africa, in China,
and in the islands of ^e Pacific, it may not be amiss to analyze
the ridicule that has been thrown on such measures as a mean
of propagating the faith of Christ : it may not be amiss to inquire
bow far die rulers of the Church may laudably avail themselves,
for this purpose, of the course of political events, and to weigh
the criticisms of their impugners.
In the seventh century of the Christian era, arose an impostor
whose success has obtained for him, in the minds of unthinking
Christians and inconsequent moralists, but too easy a pardon
for the impiety of his attempt and the grossness of his doctrines.
This man willed that his followers should be conquerors: with
the Koran in one hand and the sword in the other, he caused
the divinity of his mission to be acknowledged ; his successors
imposed tibe yoke of his creed and of their own despotism on
the fairest region of so much of the earth as was then known to
the civilized nations. They passed the straits that separate
Africa from Europe : established themselves in Spain ; and even
made incursions into the provinces of France. The Holy Land,
once trod by blessed feet, was included in their empire : and
those Christians whose devotion led them to visit the places
where the incarnate Word had lived and died and risen again,
were vexed and tormenteii by triumphant bigotry.
Of this last circumstance, the governors of the nations united
under the name of Christendom, took advantage for their own
defence : they roused the courage of their people to encounter
the dangers and the difiicuhies of a distant warfare. Crusades
for the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre and for establishing a
barrier against Mahometan conquest, long exercised the valour,
the zeal and the piety of Christian heroes.
The expulsion of the Moors from Grenada, an act at least as
justifiable as their intrusion into that province, may be regarded
as the last of these crusades. It secured Christendom on this
point, from the dread of a barbarous domination ; and the
Mediterranean rolled its waves between Spain and the ferocious
pirate of the northern coast of Africa. But the errors and acts
of the impostor had prevailed far and wide. Poland, Austria,
Digitized by
Google
12 COLONIZATION AND CHRISTIANITY.
Venice, and the Knights of St John of Jerasalem, at last driyen
to the little isle where the Apostle of the Gentiles had escaped
from shipwreck — these were become the bulwarks of the coun-
tries professing the faith of Christ
Meanwhile, the opinion that religion was to be defended as
it was attacked, by force of arms, became familiar to Christians :
and the extension of the true faith was considered as the work
not only of its unarmed teachers, but also of the powers that
bore the sword. With this object in view, Pope Martin V. gave
to the Portuguese the countries they should discover after sound-
ing Africa on the south : and his successor, Alexander VI., drew
a line of demarcation from pole to pole ; and assigned to that
nation, all the unknown regions to the eastward, and to the
Spaniards, all to the westward of this boldly and magnificently-
imagined line.
The great discoverer of the new world destined a portion of
his treasures to be obtained in the east, as a subsidy for the
recovery of the Holy Land ; and trusted in the blessing of
Heaven on an enterprize that would convey the knowledge of
the truth to people as yet '^sitting in darkness and in the
shadow of death.^'
But Martin V. did not know the latitude of the Cape of Grood
Hope. Alexander VI. did not settle the disputes that might
arise between the Portuguese and Spaniards when they should
meet on the opposite side of the globe : and Columbus was a
bigot. Such are the sneers and reproaches thrown out by
modem writers ; by Christians indifferent to their religion, or by
philosophers who reject it.
Yet ; if the Christian religion be true, it is " the power of God
unto salvation to him who belie veth ;" and is to be taught, as
such, in all the countries of the earth. How the divine justice
aud mercy may dispose of the souft of those who have not
heard the word of truth, is not our affair : the more inauspici-
ously we deem of their future state, the more anxiously will
Christian charity exert itself to show them the appointed way,
the revealed truth, the hope of life eternal. The cruelty and
rapacity of some profligate Spanish adventurers have thrown
dishonour on the cause of proselytism : but for their atrocious
conduct, neither the zeal of the pastors of the Church nor the
piety of Columbus ought to be made responsible. Shall the
patriot glory in the spread of the language and name of his
country by colonization : shall the statesman applaud himself
for thus increasing its power and resources : shall the man of
commerce point out his own gains as part of its wealth : and
shall Christians regard as a matter of no moment the diflusion
of that light which enlighteneth every man that cometh into the
Digitized by
Google
COLONIZATION AND CHRISTIANITY. 13
world? This is not natural: not consistent with gratitade to
God ; not in accordance with ^' die love of our brethren."
The project of Columbus for yet another ^'Jerusalem de-
livered ^ was neither so silly nor so impolitic as, in these days,
it is apprehended to be : it is justified by the danger which,
half a century after his death, threatened Italy and all Europe, —
preserved from invasion, perhaps from subjugation, by the
battle of Lepanto.
Three centuries have far advanced the discoveries to which
this great — this more than great — this good man led the way :
forty millions of Christians dwell in those countries which he
began to make known to Europe : the pure oblation of our altars
has been substituted for human sacrifices : the shores of the
great inland lakes and the horrid wilds of Paraguay have re-
echoed the praises of the true God. ^^ Beautiful upon the moun-
tains are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of peace : ^
^ they who turn many to justice shall shine like stars in the
firmament of heaven.^
The constellation of the cross animated the first wanderers in
the southern hemisphere : still the injunction ^^ go and teach all
nations " has been imperfectly obeyed ; and the purpose of the
Creator, that man should replenish the earth and subdue it, is
as yet far short of its accomplishment . Meantime a redundant
population in some countries may make it most difficult in the
classes not possessed of property, to restrain that cupidity
winch appears to them justifiable by want and misery. Coloni-
zation is, if not a remedy, at least a palliative of the evil.
It is not a remedy ; for the numbers who may depart from a
thickly inhabited region will only make room for new and mul-
tiplied increase : but as a palliative, it is the best, the most
glorious to the people who may adopt it ; the most beneficial to
the great interest of mankind. To this object, ought to be
directed the efforts of Christian charity for the relief and
amelioration of the condition of the labouring classes. Moral
restraint, popularly sneered at as the doctrine of Malthns, is,
indeed, the only efficient means whereby population can be con-
fined within the limit of easy subsistence : but the privation of
the delights of domestic affection is, in a general and extended
view, no light evil ; and ought not to be imposed or required
while so many regions remain unoccupied and desert, as if in
scorn of the magnificence of the Creator.
Digitized by
Google
14
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
Dr. Phillpotts. — M. Blanqui. — ^Dr. Gbntili, D.D.-
Mr. Mathias. — Cardinal Rufpo.
At the Greeo Dragon at Harrowgate, I was seated at dinner
beside a staid lady-like woman; — the wife of the clergyman
on the other side of her. We spoke of the changes that had
taken place in the Lower Town since I had seen it last
^' How long is it since then ? ^ she asked.
. ^^ Oh, I have not been here for these hundred years/' I replied.
She opened her dull blue eyes very wide and looked at me
in silent amazement. At length she observedi in a tone of
blended doubt and fear,
" I should not have bought you so old !**
"I was very young at the time," I answered: "I was scarcely
twenty years old."
What memories must be mine !
**P(i88on8f s'U voiuplaUj au delug0"
Need I translate these words and explain to what they allude ?
More than fifty years ago, the present Bishop of Exeter, Dr.
Phillpotts,, apologised to me for the inconvenience to which he
had put me by not understanding the meaning of the letters
R. S. V. P. which I had written at the bottom of a letter ; and
though French and French literature are not quite so strange
to us now as they were before Prince Albert established prizes
for foreign languages at Eton, still there may be some country
gentlemen unacquainted with Racine's comedy of Les Plaideurs,
in which counsel, pleading in the case of a stolen chicken,
begins his speech with the protasis ^^ Before the creation of
the world" and is interrupted by the judge, Dandin,
exclaiming, with a yawn, ^^ O Mr. Avocat, let us skip on to the
deluge, if you please."
Thus, &ough enriched with the memories of "a hundred
years," I have skipped over half of them and find myself em-
barked in the see of Exeter. But, fifty years ago. Dr. Phillpotts
was little liable to be addressed in the mysterious initials of
French politeness. He was struggling with difficulties at Mag-
dalene College, Oxford : and was cramming religion and sound
principles of church -and- state into the mind of his first pupil.
But, himself of a reduced gentleman's family (so much reduced,
indeed, that his father attempted to mend his circumstances by
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 15i
renting the Bear inn at Gloucester — which he soon abandoned
having, as he said, discovered that a successful innkeeper mast
have been bred in the stable and his wife at the bar:— ^from
tbis connection with the great cheese^making country, some ill
natured people have called the bishop " double-Gloucester'') —
but, though himself of a reduced gentleman's family, and main-
taining himself with difficulty at Oxford, it is much to the
young divine's credit that he proposed to dismiss this important
pupil because he had imbibed deistic ideas and was, as his tutor
worded it, ^^ in politics very much inclined to the vicious side."
The future bishop was, indeed, always a conscientious sup-
porter of the powers that be, and of the Established Church :
the very attacks that were then made upon it, made him — I say
it advisedly — the more anxious to enrol himself amongst its
clergy. It was recounted to him that a French Emigre, a
Pkilosophe — ^had exclaimed to a friend ^^Is it possible that you
believe in Christ ? I thought you were a man of sense !"
'^Did you not knock him dovm?" exclaimed young PhiU-
potts with impetuous but inconsiderate zeal, such as might have
animated the present member for his county when giving a.
^^ punch on the head" to a poacher. ^^Did you not knock him
down?"
"Ye know not what spirit ye are of" was quoted to him ; and
he blushed and acknowledged his error.
It was in this feeling of devotion to all legitimate authority,
that, at this time, — fifty, aye more than fifty years ago, — ^he
wrote to me " I lament the horrible Injuries which the Pope
has suffered from the general enemy: I admire his own Bo-
haviour and heartily wish for the re-establishment of his
Authority in some other Country. Should that be denied, I
wish he may find an Asylum in England."
Again, in our days, the Holy Father has suffered injuries^
and it has been thought not impossible that he should seek
refuge in England. But few of us have imagined that, were
he to do so, die ^iscopal palace at Exeter would be. placed
at his disposal!
About this time, the life of the future pillar of the Anglican
Church was, with mine own, placed in some jeopardy. We
had taken a long and delightftil walk together through a part
of the country that was new to us both. Even August has its
nights; and darkness overtook us and caused us to bewilder
ourselves still more in unknown lanes. At length, lights in the
windows guided us to what proved to be a gentleman's house..
The clock struck eleven in the hall as we knocked at the front
door. The hospitable owner of the. mansion, who proved to
be a Mr. Alington, put his head out of the window; and, thinking
Digitized by
Google
16 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MlHi.
that people who knock at a front door while lights are still
burning in the house, must be robbers, peremptorily called out
<<Who are you?" and, without waiting for an answer, fired a
blunderbus at us. The shot whizzed past harmless:— one of
the parly was reserved for canonry and mitraille.
When I resided in Bath, a certain banker of Durham came
for a season and took a house in Marlborough Buildings. He
had some nice daughters who used to attend the balls— the
£Gi;ther remaining at home. The girls were, however, required
to return at twelve o'clock — ^people kept early hours in Bath
in those days — ^not by the dread that haunted poor Cinderella
of the glass slipper (originally written a slipper of mr, lined
with royal sable, then misprinted, by some ignorant composer,
verre^ and translated into English glass) but by the terror of
their £Etther*s horsewhip. If the clock had struck twelve when
their chairman knocked at the door, he posted himself in the
passage and, with a long riding whip, cut at them as they
scampered upstairs. Certes, we recommend the plan to all
fathers whose daughters are too fond of '^ a galop " to another
tune. Let them have a ^'row polka" when they come home.
Our young divine married one of these well broke, well
trained ladies.
The career of Dr. Phillpotts as a successful writer of pam-
phlets in opposition to Catholics and Catholic Emancipation, is
well known. He was rewarded with the living of Stanhope
near Durham — ^supposed to be worth £7000 a year. When
Emancipation was about to be granted to the demands of
O'Connell, he was accused of forsaking his principles and of
supporting the ministers. He became Bishop of Exeter ; and
was to have retained his cure of souls in Durham in comment-
dam ; but the plan was violently opposed in parliament, and
Lord Gray was obliged to take the living from the new bishop
— ^who was thus a great loser, in point of revenue, by his eleva-
tion. This little transaction did not tend to heal the unfriendly
feeling that had long existed between the premier and the
northern divine. On one occasion, in the House of Lords, the
former so far forgot himself as to wind up a period by declaring
that the Bight Reverend Prelate ^^ excited his contempt and
disgust." With apparent meekness, the other replied that **the
charities and the spirit of his religion prevented him from
feeling disgust or contempt for any one — ^not even for the
noble earl." Indeed, he at once, proved himself, on the epis-
copal bench, to be a most able and argumentative, but bitter
speaker, ^d yet, no one has manners more courtly, more
bland, more winning-kind : no one has a voice more gentle, an
intonation more soothing and harmonious. In the manage-
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 17
ment of his diocese, in the disputes between the high and the
low church, the principles of his life have obliged him to take
the unpopular side : and those whom he opposed, have assailed
bim with every imaginable epithet of scorn and contumely.
The Tractarian party do, indeed, accuse him of having deserted
them after he had led them on to fight for the rubric under the
banner of the white surplice: yet he seems only to have
withdrawn from the contest when he saw that the ill feeling
engendered was greater than could be compensated by the
restoration of the discipline which he preferred.
But '^give a dog a bad name and hang him." The prelate's
sincerity having been doubted, every action of his life is sus-
pected and questioned. At his first visitation of his diocese,
he was said to admire exceedingly the Devonshire rolls that he*
met with at every gentleman's house : and to please his hostess,
he took with him, from every house, a little basket of rolls
which were thrown from the carriage window before he reached
his next friendly entertainer to make room for a fresh supply.
At the church, when his clergy were gathered around him, he
said, in a severe voice "Mr. I cannot consent to your non-
residence upon your other important living unless you have a
curate constantly on the spot."
"1 have a curate constantly in the parish, my lord."
'^I am aware of it ; but you really must make him an allowance
more proportioned to the population and the value of the living.
You really must give him one hundred and fifty pounds a year."^
" I have always allowed him two hundred a year, my lord."
" I know it. I have only spoken thus, gentlemen," he said,
turning to the others, "to draw out from our friend's modesty
evidence of his praiseworthy conduct : and to set him before
you as a model I would wish you all to follow."
A scarcely-suppressed titter ran through the assembly at the
skiU with which their diocesan covered what all believed to be
mistakes.
But in his many contests with his clergy, he has ever been
proved to be in the right He has striven to maintain the
fidth and discipline of his Church : and no Catholic doubts but
that, in the question of baptismal regeneration which is now
said to threaten the establishment with such disruption, he will
be proved to hold the doctrine of the Anglican Church — if the
court is bold enough to pronounce a decision.
Last time I visited the bishop, the table in his outer sitting
room — it stood near an open window in the blaze of a noonday
sun — was covered with cotton stockings which had been newly
labelled "H. E" in marking ink, and which were laid out there
to dry. Surely this looked like apostolic simplicity !
Digitized by
Google
18 becollections of eminent men.
Monsieur Blanqui.
About twenty-five years ago, a French traveller visited Bath
on his tour through England. He dined at the White Hart
Hotel. After dinner, cheese and cucumber were placed on his
table. In France, cheese is always placed on the table with
the desert : he did not know that Uie English plan was different;
and supposing that he saw his desert, began to laugh most
joyously that English people should diink cucumber a fruit;
that the city of Bath should afford no better fruit for desert
than raw cucumbers. He wrote a book descriptive of his tour,
and published in it this anecdote; expressing much mock sym--
pathy for the poor devils who were obliged to live in so wretched
a climate —
"Ou TAngleterre triste et le front couvert d*ombre,
Comma une tache sombre,
Obscurcit et noircit Tazur brillant des mers;"
Having thus done homage to the superior savoir vivre of
France, he tells us in his book that he then ran to deliver a
letter of introduction with which he was supplied to one of the
most eminent characters in Bath.
I will not, at present, tarry to describe this once-valued
friend. Suffice it to say that, when I went to Paris in 1827, I
took from him a letter of introduction to the hero of the
cucumber — to the then unknown Monsieur Blanqui.
English people, or at all events, English authors, who may,
perhaps, be interested parties, frequendy lament the little con-
sideration that literary men enjoy in this country compared
with that which surrounds theni on the continent. I believe the
complaint to be unfounded ; and their position to be much the
same every where: — I mean in every country where people
read. When the late M. de Chateaubriand was presented to
Alexander of Russia, the Emperor asked him "Are you the M.
de Chateaubriand who has written who has written
something ?" In the dominions of the Czar of Russia, literary
men may, perhaps, be ignored : but in European countries, I
believe Uiey hold that position which their birth and manners
would ever secure to them. Literary pursuits are, no where, a
passport to general society: general society has not sense
enough to value a man for his abilities only : though, if literary
eminence be added to his other qualifications, he will, doubtless,
be more looked up to ; and any little extravagances he may please
to practise, will be laughed at and forgiven — as we all laughed
at and forgave old Walter Savage Landor when, in the centre
of a large party in a large room, he threw himself on a Iomt
stool at the feet of a middle aged lady and talked to her with
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OP EMINENT MEN. 19
the empressement of one representing an actor in the gardens
of Bocaecio. In general, literary men and authors herd to-
gether; with those who have the same pursuits, the same
tastes. What should they do amid the frivolities of &shionable
society, of whose interest they know nothing ? and what should
fashionable society do with the dreamers, the thunderers, or
the wits who influence it, and sway it, and inspire it in a manner
aod with a power that it little suspects ?
M. Blanqui was a literary man, and lived in a circle of literary
men and revolutionists. He introduced me to M. Say, the
celebrated political economist; who was pleased to express
surprise that a man who had been educated in France ^^a hun-
dred years ago," should know how to speak the language.
There I met none but literary men or men of that class of
politics which Dr. Phillpotts would have called "vicious" —
They were not, consequently, men whom one was in the habit
of meeting in the salons of the noblesse. The appearance and
manners of M. Blanqui himself would have debarred him from
such, had he been ambitious to enter them. But his ambition
was of another sort. He was, in truth, the most ambitious em-
bryo traitor I ever met. He lived in a small lodging — on his
wits ; but he was resolved that those wits should land him in a
better. His one object was to earn enough by his pen to
qualify hinaself to be elected a Depute to the Chambre. Fictitious
qualifications for members of parliament were unknown in
France. The labour by which Hume the historian strove to
amass a thousand pounds ; the exultation with which he first
beheld himself the possessor of such a sum, has been recorded.
But Hume^s ambition only led him to anticipate a life of literary
ease : that of M. Blanqui already beheld him the destroyer of
thrones. He did amass a "qualification." He was elected a
depute.
The part he played in the late revolution in France will be
recorded in History.
Dr. Gentili, D.D.
When I was at Rome in 1823, 1 was acquainted, as intimately
as a man of my age could well be with a man of about thirty^
with a barrister practising in one of the courts there. His
name was Gentili. He was a pleasant, chatty man, with a good
deal of anecdote. He used to play on the guitar and sing a
little. He had all the feelings of a Roman ; lamenting the loss
of political power and making a jest of the present state of his
country. Thus whenever he spoke of any thing that had been
formerly done by the Romans, he would add, "gli antichi gi4
s^intende : non quelli d'oggi — the ancient be it understood, not
those of to-day." In short, he was a fair specimen of a modem
c2
Digitized by
Google
20 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
Roman gentleman of the middle class, or rather of the learned
professions — in whom was apparent no great fund of genius,
sensibility or religion ; although there was no want of either.
He was a poet too. While I was at Rome, Miss Bathurst
was staying there with her aunt and uncle. Lord Aylmer. Poor
Rose Bathurst was one of the most pretty, winning girls I ever
saw. She was the belle of Rome — at least, she was so con-
sidered by all except her rival Miss Gent and her admirers.
She was a good horse-woman, and on the 16th of March, 1824,
rode out as usual with her relations and a gay party. They
crossed the Ponte MoUe and turned to the right : when, finding
a gate shut through which they had intended to pass, the old
Due de Montmorenci, the French ambassador, who was as
blind as a bat, assured them that he could guide them along a
path beside the river which he had often past himself; without
— thanks to his blindness — ^being aware of its danger. The
horse on which Miss Bathurst rode, missed its footing, fell
down the steep bank into the river upon its rider and buried
her in the mud and water. A couple of twigs, placed over the
shore in the form of a cross, marked the spot; and many prayed
for la Rosina whom they had so much admired.
But the verse-makers were not satisfied with praying. It
was a good subject for an elegy or any other bit of sentimen-
talism ; and, at the head of the poetic mourners. Signer Genlili
was ambitious to appear. He showed me the first canto of
what was to have been a lengthened epic. Old Tiber was
represented as calling all his nymphs and naiads and tributory
courtiers around him and announcing to them the coming of a
visitor from the far lands of the barbarous north whom he
desired them to greet with imperial benignity and grace. The
speeches of the several characters were given ; and the canto
closed with a chorus in praise ofRome, of Tiber and of themselves.
I do not remember whether I had any hand in preventing the
completion and the publication of the work. But Signer Oentili
had never been personally acquainted with the heroine of his
poem : and, probably, his inspiration wore away with his first
sympathy for the sufferer.
Twenty years afterwards, I was travelling through the mid-
land counties at a time when all England thought itself in
danger from the turning out of the Chartists — ^wbo seemed not-
withstanding to be very harmless fellows. A lady and two
children were with me in the open phaeton which I drove : and
we all felt considerably uncomfortable when, in a sequestered
road, we met a large procession of them. But they drew quietly
to one side, and most of them touched their hats as we passed.
The next day was Sunday, and we heard Mass at the quiet
chapel of Loughborough. The congregation was small : but
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 21
what was my surprise, as soon as Mass was ended, to see
hundreds and hundreds of men ponr themselves into the church
and quietly occupy every spot on which a man could stand,
sit or climb — for the embrasures of the windows had their
tenants ! These were the Chartists. Each column of them was
directed towards that part of the building that was least crowded
by a priest who came forth to the altar and motioned them
forward with dignified and impressive gesture. The priest was
my old friend, Signer, now Dr. Gentili, D.D.
For some years, he had withdrawn from worldly pursuits.
Had studied with zeal and devotion. Had been ordained and had
piously dedicated himself to the religious service of England !
It was, at that time, a whim of the Chartists to attend different
places of religious worship in turn — occupying them en masse^
to the no small dread and discomfort of some of the clergy and
congregations. Thus the Rev. Mr. Close at Cheltenham had
requested them, as a favour, that they would not come to his
church, but would seek some other that was less crowded with
well-dressed and fashionable people. A relation of mine was
stationed with his troop at Leicester with particular injunctions
to prevent them from thus taking possession, as it was phrased,
of the churches ! They thought themselves hardly used ; and
on the last Saturday evening, had sent a deputation to Dr.
Gentili announcing their intention of visiting him on the follow-,
ing day, and inquiring whether they would be repulsed. A
Catholic priest could not repulse people from his church : and
the good Doctor only explained to them that a part of the
prayers was in Latin which they could not understand, and
requested them to wait outside till these were over : they might
then come in and hear the sermon.
They did come in, as I have stated ; and magnificently then
the preacher "pitched into them." His language was rather
imperfect ; his pronunciation was foreign : but his gesticulation,
though excessive, was commanding : he seemed inspired by the
occasion. For one hour and a half, he poured forth an extem-
pore address on the gospel of the day. He sympathised with
the distress of his strange audience : but he declared that the
cause of all their misfortunes was their abandonment of the
ancient faith : and that if they would " first seek the justice of
God" by returning to it, all they needed would be added to them.
This bold harangue was listened to most respectfully ; and, at
the conclusion of it, they dispersed with the quietness and regu-
larity with which they had entered the building. There was a
little flower garden outside the door ; and after the service, when
I renewed my old acquaintance with my old and most revered
friend, he bade me remark that not a single footstep had wan-
dered upon it from the gravel walk.
Digitized by
Google
22 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
From that time, the life of Dr. Gentili was a life of ceaseless
toil in the vineyard of Christ. But, to him, all seemed a labour
of love. His exertions as a missionary preacher, were untiring
and most effective. He was, everywhere, followed with devotion
and reverence, and completed in the confessional the conversions
which he had commenced in the pulpit. Here it was, I believe,
that, in the autumn of 1848, while engaged on a mission in Ire-
land, he caught the malignant fever of which be died. As his
life had been exemplary, so was bis death most edifying. May he
now enjoy the reward promised to the good and faithful servant !
Mr. Mathias.
In the last number of the " Register," the author of the " Pur-
suits of Literature " is alluded to by a correspondent. The book
was published during the last century ; but it holds its place in
libraries as a standard work. Bigoted and uncharitable as the
author shows himself when referring to the faith of Catholics, his
notes upon books are valued for their research and erudition.
In fact, his text is but a peg on which to hang his notes.
I was personally acquainted with Mr. Mathias when we both
lived at Naples. He may live, there still, for aught I know to
the contrary : for such a shrivelled, wizened, little old man he
was, that be looked as if there^was not life enough in him to die !
And yet he was the greatest eater, I ever met. He had not a
'tooth in his head ; but he eat voraciously, and masticated his
food with his bare gums so violently as to shake his whole bead.
He disliked conversation. Like many men who have risen to
eminence by some one sudden effort, he seemed to fear lest he
should commit or expose himself, and fall back from his pinnacle
of glory.
During his long residence in Italy, he gave himself up to the
study of the Italian language. It was his ambition to be an
Italian poet. He translated Beattie's " Minstrel " into Italian
verse and published it. I have also a folio volume, printed by
him for private circulation, of " Poesie Lireche e Prose Toscane."
His versification is, however, laboured. His language is that of
the student, not of him who uses it familiarly. Even in his con-
versation this appeared. When he did talk, he was fond of
talking Italian : and I once mortified him exceedingly by calling
to him, before a large company, ^* Mr. Mathias, you are a native
and can tell us : what is the Italian for puss ?"
" For puss ? " he replied : " oh, gatto, to be sure !"
" No : no," I insisted, " gatto is Italian for cat^ I want to call
puss, puss."
He thought awhile ; coloured ; and absorbed himself in a
vol-au-vent of woodcock.
Digitized by
Google
bbcollections of eminent men. 23
Cardinal Ruffo.
After the Frencli invasion of Italy at the end of the last cen-
tury ; after they had obtained possession of the city of Naples,
which the lazzeroni had defended against them for three days,
until the commander of the French forces proposed to send a
guard of honour to protect the shrine of St. Januarius, when they
joyfiilly capitulated and mounted guard side by side with the
invaders ; after the king had jSed to Sicily under the protection
of the English — an opportune moment was thought to have ar-
rived for a fresh incursion into the dominions di qua del Faro.
A busy man who thought himself, and who was generally thought,
to have some military genius, got the ear of the royal counsels —
probably while hunting with King Ferdinand. He was not in
holy orders, but had ^e title of cardinal which is not unfre-
quendy bestowed upon those who are not priests. At his insti-
gation, all the prisons of Sicily were cleared of their tenants on
condition that they should join the standard of the cardinal ;
and vagabonds flocked around it from every side, while respect-
able people held aJoof from what was understood to be a mere
predatory incursion. An army, such as Falstaff would have
scorned to march through Coventy with, was, however, thus col-
lected and passed over the straits from Messina. It gathered
materials of the same sort as it marched towards the capital. The
French troops were taken by surprise ; the towns were unde-
fended ; and Cardinal Buffo seized upon Naples at the head
of his victorious bands. For three days, he delivered it up to
pillage ; and the depredations that were then committed were
spoken of with horror a quarter of a century afterwards.
A small body of French troops was soon brought together ;
and the army of Cardinal Buffo melted away as rapidly as it
had been collected.
I knew this old man well when I lived at Naples. He also
delighted to reside there, as on the scene of his former triumphs:
for though he still retained his honorary title of cardinal, he
looked upon himself as a military man — the only hero, thank
heaven ! in the sacred college. He was a thin, spare man ; very
active and sprightly in his manner: with a quick, glancing eye;
and affecting a military swagger in his deportment and language,
no less than a contempt for the unsoldier-like capacities of
Roman ministers and ecclesiastics. Thus the Campagna being
infested by robbers at that time, a cardinal had been sent from
Rome, with a considerable force, to restore order in the country.
Cardinal Ruffo called on me to discuss the matter. He evidently
thought that the command of the expedition ought to have been
entrusted to himself.
Digitized by
Google
24 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
" Why the devil !" he exclaimefl with military swagger, " why
the devil ! will they worry to death a poor cardinal as fat and as
plump as this." — and he rounded out his long arms with appro-
priate gesture : " a man," he continued, " who has never meddled
with such matters ; and who, all his life, has only scattered bene-
dictions ? If he catches the robbers, he will give them a dinner,
a pension and his blessing !"
About the same time, a Mr. and Mrs. Hunt were barbarously
murdered near Paestum. They were very young, pleasant
people, lately married ; and were on their wedding tour. They
had been to visit the ruined temples with a party occupying
three carriages : — unfortunately a certain interval occurred be-
tween each ; or each might have protected the other. Mr. and
Mrs. Hunt were in the second carriage : and when summoned
to deliver their money and trinkets, instead of meekly complying,
as the ladies in the first carriage had done, Mr. Hunt quarrelled
with the banditti ; lost his temper ; and, in his imperfect Italian,
used some expressions of which he did not understand the full
force, but which the valiant highwaymen thought insulting to
their honour. A gun was pointed at each side of the carriage ;
and, while his bride clung to him in terror, he dared the gang to
fire. They did so, in their anger. Husband and wife were both
mortally wounded ; and the robbers fled in terror at what they
had done — Cleaving all their booty behind them.
Now it was asserted that one of these murderers was a favour-
ite gamekeeper of King Ferdinand, to whom he had been re-
commended by Cardinal Ruffo : that the cardinal had taken him
formerly out of a Sicilian prison and still favoured him for his
conduct during the predatory expedition to Naples. I do not
vouch for this fact : but I am led to believe it by the behaviour
of my friend Buffo. He called upon me as soon as the wretches
were arrested : and though I was at dinner, insisted upon seeing
me on a matter of importance. But the murder at Po^stum was
the only subject on which he had to speak. He complained
that Mr. Hunt had used bad language to the robbers ; and gave
me to understand that the object of his visit was to ascertain if
English travellers at Naples would be displeased if they were
allowed to escape the penalty of their crime. I assured him
that we should expect justice to be done upon them. He left
me dissatisfied.
Four months after, the murderers were executed : and I saw
Cardinal Buffo no more.
In our next, the Rajah of Sarawak — Duchesae de Bern — the Blind
Traveller — Cardinal de Gregorio.
Digitized by
Google
25
THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE.
CHAP. I.
In a handsomely furnished breakfast parlour were seated two
ladies. — ^The elder of the two was occupied in reading aloud to
her companion, who was engaged in needlework.
There is a positive pleasure in seeing a well dressed ladjr
at work. It is a custom so endeared to all men's minds, telling
so much of happy home and dear domestic bliss, that the mere
witnessing of the needle and thread glide swiftly through the
delicate fingers of the worker, imparts a charm unto our hearts
which for gold we would not destroy. A happy home ! — ^What
can equal that ? Home ! home ! Oh, let poverty sit in state
upon the empty board, and gaunt famine with its hideous laugh
roam throughout the house, so that it is a home, so that there
are some joys attached to the cheerless hearth, some kind hand
and loving heart to cheer your drooping spirits, and by its
patient bearing urge you forward in the struggle which all for
life must make, so that there are these joys, these kind words,
these gentle auxiliaries, the place itself may be a very desert,
yet in the heart of man it lives an Arabian palace, redolent of
gold and spices. Home ! home ! what, what can equal thee ?
We digress. Pardon us, gentle readers ; but once, long, long
ago, we had a home, and felt those joys which faindy we
describe.
The cottage in which this parlour was situated, was but a
small one, a little above Putney Bridge, but there was an air of
taste displayed in eveiy portion of it, beauties to be discovered
inside and out, so that small as it certainly was, it stood there
stamped as the abode of some one of wealth and taste, and
who inhabited the house for choice and not necessity.
The breakfast parlour opened through French windows into
a lawn neatly kept, and commanded a view, through a few trees
planted in tasteful array, of the river.
"Where's Arthur, dear?" said the lady who was reading,
pausing to turn over her leaf.
"Giving the dogs a run ; when you decide upon going out, I
will send Roberts for him," was the reply.
"No, dear ; bright as the morning is, / feel more inclined for
reading ; but you ride."
"Not without you, dear, 1 have work, but go on, if you are
not tired^ I am quite interested in Ruth Vincent."
Digitized by
Google
26 THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE.
The elder lady was reading to her companion, who indeed
was her daughter-in-law, ^* Use and Abuse," a work of powerful
interest and of language gorgeous and brilliant in the extreme,
conveying a moral of so deep and grave a nature that none can
read with interest and say, " I believe not in God," — a gem to
those who worship ; to those who will not, a sting.
The lady resumed her book, but in a short time was inter-
rupted by the entrance of the son of the reader and the husband
of the younger lady, Capt. Arthur Harcourt, of the Guards.
To those who have before heard of Arthur Harcourt it will
suffice to say, that this chapter finds him in the third month of
a happy marriage with Miss Eliza Berrington, the sister of his
old friend. To those readers who may not have perused the
short tale written as a kind of prologue to the present one, it
will be merely necessary to state, that the elder lady was the
widow of Col. Harcourt, late of the 27th, and that her son,
having been presented with a commission in the Guards, had
soon attained the rank of captain, and after a courtship of
eighteen months, had married (according to the papers), ^'the
beautiful and accomplished daughter of Joseph Berrington, Esq.,
of Connaught Place, Hyde Park, and The Lawn, Somerset-
shire." And furthermore, that (see the papers again), '^ U'his is
the lovely and accomplished lady, whose reception into the
Catholic church lately, caused so vast a sensation in the neigh-
bourhood of Exeter Hall." (The italics belong to the
morning paper before mentioned.) The rest our tale wUl unfold.
** Still reading, still reading, " said the Captain on entering ;
"I thought I was to drive you two to town this morning."
'^ Mamma feels very much inclined to read, and I feel very
much inclined to listen, Arthur dear," said Mrs. Arthur Harcourt.
^^ On such a morning too !" said Arthur.
''But such a book !" remarked his mother.
" Oh, books, fiddle on books."
" Now, Arthur," said his pretty wife laughingly, "do leave
off crying down literature ; it's only since you have turned
soldier you. have felt so inclined to underrate all works of
fiction."
"Arthur thinks it manly," remarked Mrs. Harcourt.
While Arthur was defending himself from this charge, Mrs.
H. observed three gentlemen on the lawn fronting their house,
coming evidently from the river. It was difficult to say who
they were for they were indulging in a game of "leap frog,"
and although they all seemed somewhat about the age of
Captain Harcourt, they were pursuing their game with {dl the
ardour of school boys, and, we may add, with all the noise in
addition.
Digitized by
Google
THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE. . 27
"It must be Frank " observed Mrs. Arthur Harcourt. "It is
Frank, but who is he with ?"
Arthur went from the room to receive his brother-in-law, and
speedily returned with his brother-in-law, Francis Berrington,
Lord Roland Agincourt, and Mr. Villars.
Lord Roland was an old friend of Harcourt, son of the
Marquis of Axminster, a clever man, strongly addicted to the
days gone by ; young, ardent, and generous, a moderate poet,
and a staunch Conservative.
Mr. Villars was a fellow schoolfellow of the other, and was
studying for the church, a living being in his family. He was
a slight, sharp man, with keen grey eyes, and a kind of sneer
playing about his lips, a dandy in his dress, a clever reviewer,
and a consistent Liberal ; perhaps he went with the extreme
Liberal school, but he had an uncle in the Commons, who had a
hankering after the peerage, and that was his excuse.
The gentlemen knew the ladies, so no introduction was neces-
sary. Berrington attempted an apology for their leap frog
exploit, but Lord Roland interposed, and glorying in the game,
entered into a defence of such sports.
" Leap frog is an ancient game," said Lord Roland.
" So was highway robbery," drily observed Villars.
"Well, I will pray forgiveness of you," said Mrs. Arthur
Harcourt. "Have you, Frank, heard from mamma ?"
"Still at Bath."
"With?"—
"Oh !" observed Arthur, "Mrs. Dawson, I suppose, and all
the saints."
" Or all the sinners," said Villars.
" Why Frank," said Mrs. Arthur Harcourt, " you, I thought,
were confined to your chambers reading deeply."
" So 1 am," replied Berrington, " in dull weather, but when
the sun comes playing in at the windows, and the gentle breeze
wafting o^er the river raises the dust from off my books, whirling
it round and round the room in fantastic shapes, I can^t read,
and so I come out for a stroll till the dust settles down, and the
breeze dies away, and meeting these idle men, we agreed to
come after Arthur, and see what he was doing."
" Idle men ! " said Lord Roland and Mr. Villars simulta-
neously.
" Well, are ye not ?" asked Frank.
" Gad ! I am not," answered Lord Roland.
" Nor I— I read," said Villars.
"Until the dust enters your room, and drives you out, I
presume, Mr. Villars," said Mrs. Arthur Harcourt.
" Apropos of idle men," said Lord Roland, " why do you not
Digitized by
Google
28 THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE.
attempt Parliament Captain Harcourt ? your party want strength
ening."
" My party ? which party ? "
" The Catholic party ?" said Villars.
" The Tory party," suggested Berrington.
" Well," said Villars, " I cannot understand a Conservative
Catholic."
'^ I am one," said Lord Roland.
" Pardon me," said Harcourt, " you are not a Catholic."
" Yes he is," answered Villars, " strictly ; but I used the word
as applied to Roman Catholic, strictly speaking. Lord Roland
is a Conservative Catholic."
" Strictly speaking," replied Arthur, " I say he is nothing of
the sort. It won't do, Villars, although you are reading for a
rectory. Catholicism can only be used in reference to my church."
" Catholic," said Berrington, " means universal."
" A Church for every one," said Villars.
" Nothing of the sort," replied Capt Harcourt ; " the Church
eveiywhere."
" Well, your Church is not everywhere," said Villars, tri-
umphantly.
" That's poor logic, Villars," said Berrington. " If by the
words * every where,' you mean the whole globe, with perhaps
countries yet unfound : but so far as places are known, there
Catholics may be found. In China, on the Rocky Mountains,
missionaries from our Church have appeared. Whenever a new
country is explored, or an old penetrated into, there some
memorial of the One Church makes its appearance — a rude
cross by the way-side, a crucifix, a rosary, something appears
to say we have been here to preach God's word. Can you say
the same ?"
" Well," said Villars, " Protestant missionaries are to be found
almost every where. The Sandwich Islands, New Zealand,
China, they all appear with yours."
" But," answered Harcourt, " you forget that they are Pro-
testant missionaries, not Church of England men. No two of
them agree. One says, by baptism ye are saved; another
denies that : one baptizes and makes happy some naked savage ;
the other steps in, and denies his predecessor's doctrines.
There's little Catholicism in this attempt at universality."
" What a dry discussion for the ladies," said Lord Roland ;
**and my question unanswered, also. How would you like,
Mrs. Harcourt, for the Captain to be in Parliament ? "
Mrs. Arthur Harcourt's eyes glittered with delight. What
lady would refuse consent to her husband attaching M.P. to his
name, even if it did keep him from home at nights, and drag
him out to committees on private bills in the mornings ?
Digitized by
Google
THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE. 29
'^ Arthur could never speak,^' said Mrs. Harcourt, sen.
" Practice, practice," said Lord Roland : " we must have aU
a beginning. I like a military man in the Commons ; it gives
him a tone.'*
^' There are too many military men already there,'' said Villars*
^^ Villars, you're turning financial reformer," said Lord
Roland. ^^ Clergymen must be Tories, if orthodox."
^^ Villars is not inducted," said Berrington.
" It is strange," said Lord Roland, addressing Mrs. Harcourt,
^ that we four, old schoolboys together, should thus represent,
and yet still in our youth, the four great classes of our country —
Arthur as a soldier ; Berrington, a lawyer, a civilian ; the clergy
present in Villars ; and I, the old nobility."
^^ And, stranger still," said Villars, " that four different faiths
are personified in us — the old Catholic ; the modem one ; a com-
pound of the Catholic and Protestant ; and a staunch Evange-
lical."
Capt. Harcourt looked at his wife, who laughed heartily at the
sound of the last word. Villars noticed it.
** Do you object to my styling myself a staunch Evangelical ? "
he inquired.
'^ Oh no, Mr. Villars ; but you must remember, I was once of
that party myself, though now improved into an old Catholic,"
replied Mrs. Arthur.
*^ But, returning to my starting point," Lord Roland remarked,
^'why don't you enter Parliament, Harcourt? I am sure a
Catholic party is required."
" It would never hold together," remarked Villars : " Ireland
would be its stumbling block ; on that it must split."
" I differ from you, Villars," said Harcourt " A purely
Catholic body would be certain to hold together, and regenerate
poor Ireland : without a Catholic party the Irish party, are use-
less, for in no country is religious strife so bitter in its detail as
in Ireland ; and so your men of the north, though representing
Irish counties, throw over their constituents to carry out their
opposition to the Catholics. A really Catholic party would
alter this. And then, instead of every long-winded member
propounding some notion of his own to Government for Ireland's
welfare, we should have a clear and practical scheme submitted
to the authority that would willingly assist us. If the scheme
failed, it would be the scheme of sJl, and one could not reproach
the other; if it succeeded, well and good. But now, Villars,
we have dozens of petty schemes submitted; which, if one
of them was taken up, would raise from the favourers of all the
others a cry so loud, so long that no Government could stand
before it ; and, for the same reason, the ministry will not them-
Digitized by
Google
30 THK m>0B AND THE MOTIVE.
selves strike out a plan, for no two individual members will
agree to it. Ireland must have a purely Catholic party."
" Will anything save her ? " asked Villars, sneeringly.
"Yes," responded Harcourt; "emigration, exertion, and the
end of faction."
"Three mighty things," said Berrington.
"Mighty," said Lord Iloland, "because untried. Every thing
unattempted seems difficult. To cross the desert, to ascend
Mont Blanc, to drink hot tea, all seem impossible until tried ;
all require a mighty effort in theory, an easy task to accomplish
in practice."
" The word impossible is then expunged from your vocabu-
lary," said Mrs. Harcourt.
" Not expunged, but shelved," answered the young nobleman.
"As poor Derrington used to say, Arthur, I hold not the word
in my moral power, and seldom use it in my physical. Poor
Derrington."
" How ! Poor Derrington — a rich merchant and an expectant
happy husband!"
"Arthur?"
"Have you not heard the news?" eagerly demanded Villars.
"News! What news?"
" Harriet Byron has eloped," said Lord Roland.
"Eloped !" cried Mrs. Harcourt, senior, in a tone of horror.
" Are you not jesting with us, my Lord ?"
" Indeed no," returned his lordship. " I thought the whole
town knew it ; it was known yesterday morning. Villars here
knew it well."
" And with whom ? " inquired Harcourt.
" Sir John Granby."
There was a pause ; one of those unpleasant ones which often
occur when a sudden announcement paralyzes people, and, as
it were, freezes the thoughts within them.
"Eliza — Mother," said Captain H., "you must find a cavalier
for the day from these guests. Frank, stay here and do the
honours to our friends. I must to London and see poor Cyril.
A heart so pure, so noble as his will, I fear, break with such a
shock. Oh, how he loved her ! "
" I am astonished," said Mrs. Harcourt. Harriet to elope !
and with Sir John Granby, a man of by no means a good
character ! She, too, a strict Catholic !"
Villars laughed.
" I know what you would say," said Arthur. " The greatest
show, the least piety. Well, well ; we will not argue, Villars,
now. Don't any of you leave because I must. Poor Derring-
ton— ^poor Cyril Derrington ?"
Digitized by
Google
THE HOUR AND TH£ MOTIVE. 31
Hastily saying ^* good bye,** Captain Arthur Harcourt left his
house, and was soon in a Putney omnibus on his road to
London, on a work of mercy, to comfort, (if possible), an old
schoolfellow and friend under such a trial.
CHAP. II.
Cyril Derrington was indeed a man whose life was severely
tried ; and it was yet no ordinary shock that could affect his
mind. Strong in principle and purpose, be bore the brunt of
minor difficulties with all the strength of the sturdy oak diat,
as the blast rushes furiously by, raises its head in stem defi-
ance and meets the storm ; but the shocks he had experienced
would have stricken the stoutest heart, and brought to his
mother earth the strongest of dl\ men.
The son of a Yorkshire gentleman, Cyril Derrington had
been brought up with the idea that he was the inheritor of
wealth ; but his father, deprived of the soothing care of a fond
and clever wife, and kept in early days from the House of
Commons through his faith — for the Derringtons were followers
of the Church ordained by Christ, the Holy Catholic and
Apostolic Church — ^had degenerated into the rough-riding, hard-
drinking squire, that once abounded in our northern counties.
Careless of money, heedless of expenditure, and happy only in
his stud, his kennel, and his dinners, Mr. Derrington managed
to run tlirough three times his large income ; and, reckless of
all consequences, borrowed money on exorbitant interest, and
sold acre after acre to satisfy the claims of some usurious
creditor.
He died: the estates were unentailed ; and Cyril Derrington,
fresh from school and scholastic fame, found himself a beggar.
But the young man had friends, kind, good friends, who
marked the character so strongly developed in Cyril*8 person
even then, and who rallied round him, determined to yield him
support : a mercantile life was determined on ; and Cyril Der-
rington entered into his new pursuit grateful for the numerous
feivours bestowed on him, and determined by ceaseless exertion
to deserve a continuance of theirs.
His warmest friends were Colonel and Lady Honora EUerton.
Colonel EUerton, who was a distant relation of his mother, and
who had won glory and wealth in the Indian army, had origin-
ally been engaged in trade. He loved it, even after he had
closed bis military career, and was living at home, easy and in-
dolent, upon the fortune that career had brought him. He had
Digitized by
Google
32 THE HOUR JLSU THE MOTIVE.
marked Derrington's aptitude for business ; and, assisting him
by his connexions and with money, soon beheld him occupying
a fair position in the greatest city of the world.
But there was destiny in Cyril Derrington's life : a destiny
that seemed ever to operate against his success. When he had
realized a moderate fortune, and while rapidly adding ^' increase
to his store,'* the bank in which his all was deposited stopped ;
and Cyril Denington's name figured in the list of bankrupts.
Derrington was too proud to ask of his rich friends aid. The
misfortune had been none of his own rearing, and he was
determined to meet the blow firmly. Extensive as were his
engagements, a few days sufficed to lay his true position before
his creditors. He showed, that if his bankers paid but twelve
shillings and sixpence in the pound, he was free from debt with
a handsome surplus ; that should not more than eight shillings
be realized from them, every one to whom he owed money
would obtain their full demand. He surrendered, voluntarily,,
every thing he possessed, and sought no mercy, although bis
was, in trudi, a case where mercy should be shown.
Such conduct ever meets with its reward. His creditors
gathered together, and placed him again in business ; nay more,
for his open and upright conduct, die men to whom he stood
indebted, presented him with plate which an emperor might
have coveted, for on one salver was engraved, a memorial of
his integrity, and a recapitulation of the esteem he was held in.
It was just at this crisis Cyril met Miss Byron. Harriet Byron,
(daughter and heiress of the late Sir Valentine Byron, of Byron-
ville, county of Donegal), possessed the vivacity so common,
and we may add, so pleasing, to well educated Irish ladies.
Her form was elegant, and her face of an oval form, set ofi* by
a pair of beautiful blue eyes, large, and attractive in expression,
— the face of a perfect beauty. Such as she was, Cyril felt soon
the captivation of her charms, and imperceptibly glided into
the fetters Harriet Byron forged for him.
Miss Byron lived with a distant relative — a cousin of her
father — a Miss Longford, but was a perpetual visitor, ofttimes a
weekly resident, at Lady Honora Ellerton's. It was there
Derrington met her; there he first spoke to her of love; and
there he heard her utter those sweet words, which he believing,
drank in as heaven's ofiering, and felt renewed energy to
struggle with the world — a mighty power to vanquish oppo-
sition.
The Colonel and his lady, highly approved of this attachment ;
they were extremely fond of Cyril, fond also of Miss Byron.
The lady was wealthy ; her fortune would be a valuable acqui-
sition to Derrington, especially in the present state of bis
Digitized by
Google
THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE. 83
affairs. But Cyril was firm here ; he loved pajssiouately ; de-
votedly ; but the man who refused to apply to his friends for
assistance, refused independence at the hands of his wife. If
she would wait, he would work. They were young ; love would
render him cautious. In vain the Colonel argued, — ^in vain
Miss Byron placed at his disposal her fortune ; Cyril was in-
exorable.
Harriet Byron had just that spice of romance in her compo-
sition, that led her to entreat Derrington to use her money.
There was something ^^ heroic " (so she thought) in wedding
with a poor man — one whom she truly loved. She implored
him to accept her gold. What was it to her ? Cyril loved her
dearly ; but he loved his honour, too. And so be toiled on ;
toiled with a light heart, for his toil was to be rewarded. The
bankers paid but six shillings in the pound. In five years
Cyril had paid off all his debts, was again acquiring the name
of a wealthy man, and yet was young. In these five years,
night after night had he visited Harriet ; from sweet eighteen,
when he first knew her, she attained now the age of twenty-
three, and had ripened from a lovely girl to a most beautimi
woman.
Harriet Byron, however, was not of that nature that would
have made Cyril happy. She ever wanted adoration; the deep-
ness of Cyril's love, his character, his conversation, had won
upon her ; but, while he deeply loved, she only esteemed — es-
teemed, fancying esteem was love : and so mistaken thus, she
pledged her hand believing that she pledged her heart: as
time glided on, she found the change. Harriet's fault was a
love of flattery : she ever desired to be spoken of while spoken
to : she exacted homage from those who admired her ; and truth*
fiilly as Cyril loved, this adoration he could never yield. It
was his first love : he had never till he had seen her dreamt of
it; but now, while he loved her to excess, while he would
willingly lay down his life to serve or gratify her, his tongue
refused to utter ^^ the unmanly nothings " that sprang from odier
lips ; and so her fancied love cooled gradually down, and that
heart which had charmed and captured Cyril's, beat not in return
for him.
Among the many who bowed to the beautifiil heiress, Sir
John Granby stood in the first rank. Sir John was a lady's
man: he sang French chansonettes, and waltzed admirably:
delighted in attending a lady to her carriage or to the Park ;
and had always on his tongue compliments, fulsome yet to
women so pleasing. True, he had gambled away his fortune,
was anything but strict in his morals ; but then he had a fine
person^ and dressed admirably. And this man entered the lists;
D
Digitized by
Google
34 THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE.
this mati) in form at least, beoame his opponent ; and triumphed
over such a character as Cyril Derrington.
It would have been better, both for Harriet and for Cyril,
if the lady had had the courage to inform Derrington of her
change of feeling towards him. Not that Miss Byron concealed
this for the love of deceit, or for the wish of increasing the
sorrow of her once-loved Cyril ; but the concealment arose
principally from a morbid weakness which prevented her from
confessing it, and principally from the advice of a lady nearly
related to Sir John Granby, with whom she had become ex-
tremely intimate.
Lady William Frippingham, widow of Lord William Frip-
pingham, brother of the Duke of Toxopholite, and once ambas-
sador at a German court, was a lady endowed with a most
intense love of diplomacy and a determination to rank among
the principal public personages in Europe. Immediately after
her marriage, she commenced scheming, the object of her
ambition being to deck her husband's coronet with a strawberry
leaf, and thus rank equally with her brother-in-law's lady, the
admired Duchess of Toxopholite. Keeping house always open,
she, while in London, became of incalculable advantage to a
weak ministry ; and when residing abroad the information which
she managed to obtain and furnish to the cabinet at home,
caused her lord to be considered as one of the most skilful
foreign diplomatists of the day.
The death of her husband overthrew the lady's hope of
ranking as a duchess, at least with reference to her last husband,
and she now turned her attention to increasing the power and
influence of her own family. Her sister, prettier and younger
than herself, she married well ; and thus gained to her party
a vote in the House of Lords and two in the Commons ; for the
Earl of Bosherville, whom her sister married, was rftther in his
dotage and voted strictly in accordance with his wife's wishes,
and compelled his nominees in the lower house to vote that
way also. But although this successful piece of generalship
caused Lady William to rank highly in the minister's esteem,
she could not get him to provide for her brother, Sir John
Granby, who was deeply in debt and sadly in want of a place.
^^Debt is no crime, over due unpaid acceptances are no
political disqualification," remarked the minister ; '^ but morals,
my dear Lady William — we are a moral Government, and
we cannot provide for your brother." To soften the refusal,
the great man presented a commission to a young cousin of
his fair ally, and caused her uncle to be promoted to a deanery
of some Yfdue.
Lady William Frippingham had, therefore, no other plan of
Digitized by
Google
THB HO0B AND THE MOTIVE. 35
providing for her brother than by a wealthy marriage, and
accident throwing in her way the young Irish heiress, the fair
intriguante commenced an attack upon Miss Byron's heart.
She was favoured in her plans by the absence from England
of Colonel and Lady Honora Ellerton, who were wandering on
the continent : and she very soon saw, with immense satisfaction,
that Harriet Byron's passion for Mr. Derrington began to give
way, and Sir John Granby to rise high in her esteem.
The fact was, Miss Byron again mistook love. With Cyril
it had been esteem, with Granby fascination ; with neither love.
She esteemed Cyril still, but felt she did not love him ; she was
fEiscinated with Sir John, and fancied that she did.
There was another reason why Lady William exerted herself
to forward this match. Miss Byron was a Catholic, and Lady
William Frippingham flattered herself that Harriet, once Ladv
Granby, would be soon reconcOed to the Church of Englana,
and as the Primate of ail England was her friend, she hoped, if
Miss Byron's conversion was secured, to attach that prelate to
her train, and thus pave a path for the advancement of a few
nephews and cousins, who were ready either for the church, the
army, or the navy, as preferment ojffered.
The diflerence of their creeds (if Sir John could be said to
have any) was the reason Lady William desired Miss B. to keep
her engagement secret, and on no account dismiss Mr. Derring-
ton. She painted in glowing colours the trouble it would occa-
sion all parties, and the exertions her friends would make to
prevent an alliance with a Protestant ; and painting also, in no
less striking tints, the intense love of her brother, she soon per-
suaded Harriet to keep the matter secret, and even allowed poor
Cyril to consider he was the favoured lover as well as the
affianced husband.
The real secret was, that Lady William feared if the match
was proclaimed, that some kind friend would tell the heiress Sir
John's position, and the rank he held in decent people's esteem.
It was a cruel act toward Cyril, and a hard and bitter iask
for Harriet to play so deceitful a part, but she fancied she loved
Sir John ; and, if the truth must be told, she dreaded Cyril's
reproaches, knowing how justly she deserved them. Everything
tiier^ore was kept in the strictest secrecy. Lady William
Frippingham arranged the preliminaries, got her own lawyer to
draw up the setdemenis (Harriet was of age and her fortune
entirely her own), had a clergyman at Bath in readiness to per-
form the ceremony by special licence, and planned a little tour
for the newly-married couple of sufficient length, to allow all the
spitefid sayings that would certainly be said, to evaporate before
(heir return.
D 2
Digitized by
Google
36 THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE.
Even Miss Longford was uninformed of the approaching
ceremony. Harriet stepped into her carriage, passed the day
with Lady Ffippingham, lefi; in the afternoon with Sir John for
Bath by special train, and was Lady Granby before eight o'clock
in the evening. The next day Lady William's valet took a note
to Miss Lon^ord, that apprised her of the step taken ; and it
was that lady, almost heart-broken (for she had known Harriet
almost from birth, and had nursed her while a baby), who com-
municated the news to Cyril Derrington, at a time when he was
dreaming of the bliss which he believed was in store for him :
for he, like lovers who love from the heart, had waking dreams
as weU as sleeping ones.
It was a quaint old-fashioned house, close to the Royal Ex-
change, in which Harcourt sought his friend. The rooms were
all wainscoted with a dark wood, and the ceilings decorated
vdth paintings of a mjrthological character.
There are several of these houses yet existing in the city,
grim and gloomy-looking places, out of keeping wi& the present
day, and where one can easily imagine ^e old-fiEushioned cit
to have lived in solemn grandeur, patronizing foreign artists
and laying the foundation of the mighty name which London
has now obtained.
Derrington had kept within a small room all the day.
The old housekeeper declared he would be starved. Arthur's
knock at the door obtained no response, nor led him to be
certain the room contained a living being. Fearful of he knew
not what, Harcourt entered the room.
Cyril Derrington was seated before a table, his elbows
resting thereon, his chin resting upon his hands, and his eyes
turned towards the door, but Aey showed no symptoms of a
consciousness that the door had been opened, nor did Derring-
ton move or alter his look when Arthur sofUy closed the door
and advanced towards his friend.
His raven hair flowing over a majestic forehead contrasted
strongly with the extreme pallor of his complexion, vrith his
eyes fixed upon some fancied object, the extreme rigidity of
his body, and the firm compression of his Ups. He appeared
more like one of Canova's exquisite productions, than like a
human being gifted with the powers of reason.
" Cjrril Derrington ! " said Arthur.
There was no reply.
" Have you forgotten me, Cyril — Cyril ! " exclaimed Harcourt.
Again, no reply. Harcourt advanced, aoid placing his hand
upon his shoulder, again said " Cyril !"
Digitized by
Google
THB HOUR AND THE MOTIVE. 37
^ A conyulsive ihrob shot through Cyril's frame, a ihrob that
Harcourt felt as his hand rested on him. Then rising suddenly,
drawing himself up to the height of his fine person, with a calm
and easy air he said —
^^ Captain Harcourt, this is an unexpected visit — how are
you."
Arthur staggered back at his friend's calm speech. It was
but for a second, but Derrington detected it, felt that Arthur
knew all ; and flinging himself into a chair ejaculated —
** Oh Arthur, Arthur, would I had died ere this ! "
The strong man was overcome completely. The nerves,
braced to their highest pitch, had given way, and Cyril wept
aloud.
In vain Harcourt offered consolation to him; alas, it was
useless ! To Derrington, life seemed a burden, so deeply, so
faithfully, so truly did he love.
** I could have borne her rejection of my hand, even now
after our long engagement," said Cyril, when after some time
his calmness returned, and he spoke to Arthur of his trials,
^* I could have borne rejection, had she herself told me that her
heart was changed. I loved her too well, I love her now too
well, to have wished anything that would have given her one
moment's sorrow or uneasiness: but to be cast off in this
manner, to have been her sport and plaything for years, adds
friel to the flame; oh, Harcourt, though I still love her, I
condemn her ; though I could yet worslnp, I could spurn her.'*
** With whom too has she fled ? " resumed Derrington after a
pause ; ^^ a man, whose character is stamped base upon its very
surface — a Ubertine — a spendthrift — one who has wooed her for
her gold, and won her through his flattery : and for such a man
has she broken a heart that beat but to please her; has spumed
one who would have died to save her — oh, Arthur, Arthur, pray
for me, my friend, pray for me lest I curse her from my soul."
" I feel I am the laughing-stock of the world," again Cyril
broke forth ; " the pity of Sie idle fools that swarm about the
toym. Bah ! how I hate their sympathy, and despise the pity
ihey are showering upon me now."
" The world wUl own, must ovm, you have been betrayed,'*
said Harcourt.
"What, then, will it avail me now?" Cyril uttered frantically.
" Calm yourself," said Arthur. " Remember others have had
trials even as you have now witnessed."
"Did they," demanded Derrington, "love as well?"
"Why not?"
"Well, if they did, they felt as I now feel, and pray for
death as I now pray.'*
Digitized by
Google
38 THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE.
'^Cynl\ is this my friend who often spoke to me of wishes
such as these ? Is this the friend that preached of human
suffering, and showed me how the greatest suffering man can
ever know is nothing to that torture our Saviour for us volun-
tarily underwent ? "
Tliere was a pause.
" You are right, Arthur," replied Cyril, at length, " you are
right ; but oh bear this in mind, my friend — how easy 'tis to
preach when one is free from sorrow ; how hard to practise
when in woe we're steeped."
Derrington rose from his seat calm, tranquil, and collected.
" Will you go with me ? "
"Where?"
" Where I should have gone before had I possessed my reason
— ^to seek the guide that man should ever follow. To Mr.
Howe in the first place."
" Are you collected ? " said Arthur.
"Place your hand upon my heart," said Cyril, "and feel
how steadily it beats. The impatient stroke of passion has
long left it. T can pray for her now, Arthur, and will. Yes,
our prayers are wanted, for she has cast her lot into a perilous
ocean, and her way in this world will be beset by storms and
troubles. Oh holy and blessed Virgin, pray for me at the
throne of heavenly grace, that I may be enabled to save her
whom I still dearly love from the dangers and difficulties I feel
will now be hers. And here," continued Cjril, taking Arthur's
hand and elevating his right hand above his head, " here, in
the presence of you, my early friend, I dedicate my life alone
to her. While 1 possess the power, will I watch over and
cherish her; her happiness my only study, her wishes my only
cliarge."
rTo be continued, J
Digitized by
Google
39
SHOULD RENTS BE LOWERED ? NO.
Whatever may be their religion, whatever may be their pro-
fession— no class of people in England, nay in the whole world,
can be indifferent to the consequences of Free Trade as it may
affect the cultivation and produce of the soil. Protectionist
leaders harangue their yeomanry and declare to them that the
farmer must be ruined; and yet, with strange inconsistency,
they call for their rents, less some small and partial reductions,
and expect to let their lands : Sir Robert Peel tells his tenants
that they have, thus far, (he will not pledge himself beyond the
present,) that they have thus far, suffered from the change ; that
their faxms are not now worth what they give for them ; but that,
if they will pay up all, he will spend 20 per cent, of it in im-
provements which may make the lands worth hereafter what he
takes from them now : Mr. Gaird and Mr. Uuxtable declare that
farmers may still go on and prosper : and the ^' Catholic Stan-
dard,'^* with the levelling party , asserts ^^ that the farmer, on the
best managed farms, receives a profit of about nine shillings per
acre, while the landlord receives nine pounds," and that land-
lords must lower their rents — inviting them to their fate in the
spirit if not in the words of the old catch :
" Dilly dilly dilly consent to be killed;
For you must be starved and the customers filled."
We fancy we see the mouths of our brother landlords water
at the idea of getting nine pounds an acre for their land ! If
our cotemporary will show them a rent-roll on such a scale,
we pledge ourselves that they will gladly throw off seventy-five
per cent and more of their income : for they know too weU that
the average rent of land in England does not amount to one
pound an acre, instead of nine. He is nearer the mark when
he asserts the profit of the fanner to be nine shillings per acre :
and as the capital invested in the cultivation of the land is
oftener under than above five pounds an acre, the tenant is not
to be so much pitied when he receives nine shillings interest
for the same.
But we wish not to cavil at the statements of those who are
obliged to write on a subject of which they know nothing. We
• 19th January, 1850.
Digitized by
Google
40 SHOULD RENTS 'JbR LOWERED? NO.
would only insinuate a caution to our readers that they should
not be led to swell an insensate cry against " the aristocracy ;"
who, supposing it were even true that they did receive nine
pounds an acre for their lands while their tenants received only
nine shillings, would receive it not by compulsion. The owner
.of the farm has offered his land in the market : the tenant has
made his calculations — or if he has not, it is his ovm fault — and
has agreed to rent it. Each party has made a bargain vdth his
eyes open : and has no one but lumself to blame if he has mis-
calculated.
We freely admit that, where such bargains have been based
upon the anticipation of high prices secmred by Act of Parlia-
ment and endorsed by the pledged word of living statesmen —
the tenant has a right to complain if, by any alteration in the
laws, he is deprived of those advantages upon which he had
calculated. We have always asserted that, when the change in
the law was made, it ought to have been made optional to all
who, as payers or receivers, were bound, by leases, settlements
or wills, — it ought to have been made optional to them all to
exchange the fixed money payment to which the lands were
liable for a com rent varying with the price of com, as does the
tithe rent charge : so that the amount of money paid or received
should have been the value of an equal number of bushels of
com, however much the price of the article might fluctuate.
This would have been more fair than that land, charged with
the payment of twenty shillings when those twenty shillings
would purchase only two bushels of wheat, should continue to
pay the same twenty shillings when they will buy four bushels
of the same com : for most things fall in price when the price
of com falls ; and the receiver of the money is thus benefitted at
the cost of the payer in a manner that was not anticipated when
the lease, the will, or the settlement was made.
The wisdom, the carelessness, or the treachery of Parlia-
ment has not, however, pleased to make this most just and
easily-worked provision ; and it behoves us to inquire whether
the position of the English farmer and landowner will, in truth>
be injured, and if so, to what extent, by the abolition of all
protecting duty. In order to ascertain tMs, we will, as prac-
tical men who have a long and extensive experience of the
subject on which we write, enter into a few calculations, which
shall be intelligible to Protectionist, Free Trader, and Socialist
Let us take an occupier of one hundred acres of land, and
see where he will lose and where he will gain by a continuance
of the present low prices of com. Most public speakers and
writers on the subject, forget that the farmer is a consumer as
well as a producer, and, therefore, to that extent, benefitted by
Digitized by
Google
SHOULD RENTS BE LOWERED? NO. 41
low prices. We will assume that our specimen tenant rents an
arable farm of fair average quality^ that will produce turnips,
barley, clover and wheat, in succession. This is the most
approved system of cultivation in England, and is that most
generally followed. Uuder the protective system, to enter
upon such a £Bjrm he would have required, for the purchase of
implements, stock, labourers' wages, and rent, imtil he could
receive any benefit from it, about five pounds an acre. His
expenses of cultivation woiQd have stood thus : —
The four horses he would have to keep for its cul- £ s. d.
tivation would have consumed 312 bushels of
oats per annum, at 2s. 6d. per bushel, costing . 39 0 0
The wages of two ploughmen to attend the horses,
at 9s. per week, would have been . • 46 16 0
Wages of one constant labourer, as hedger, shep-
herd, &c., at 9s. per week . . . 23 8 0
Turnips would have been tiUed on 25 acres of his
land, which would have cost him for manure, if
he had purchased it • . . . 100 0 0
If he had not bought the manure, he would
not have raised as much com as we give him
credit for.
Por hoeing the turnips twice, he would have to pay
8s. an acre ; or, for 25 acres . . . 10 0 0
The 250 ewes, the lambs of which he would have
fattened upon them, would have consumed 250
bushels of peas, at 4s. 9d. per bushel . . 59 7 6
Barley would occupy 25 acres of his land, the
seed of which, 75 bushels, at 4s. per bushel,
would have cost . . . . 15 0 0
Drilling, mowing, stacking, thatching, and thrash*
ing the crop would have cost him 15s. an acre ;
or, on the 25 acres . • • • 18 15 0
Hay Crop would have grown upon 12^ acres of
his land, the mowing and making of which would
have cost, at 5s. an acre . . .326
The other 12 J acres would have been fed by
sheep, at the cost only of shepherd's wages,
already allowed for.
Wheat would have occupied the remaining 25
acres of his land : the cost of seed, three bushels
per acre, at 7s., would have been . . 26 5 0
Reaping, stacking, thatching, and thrashing the
crop would have cost 10s. per acre . . 25 0 0
Thus the expenses of his cultivation would have
amounted to .... .£366 4 6
Digitized by
Google
42
SHOULD RENTS BE LOWERED ? NO.
As it is not anticipated that the price of meat will be lower than
heretofore, we need only see what would have been the value
of the protected produce in com and wool : —
£ s. d.
Barley, 25 acres producing 800 bushels, at 4s. . 160 0 0
Clover, 12^ acres eaten by 75 sheep, producing
375 lbs. of wool, at lOd. . . . 15 12 6
Wheat, 25 acres producing 800 bushels, at 7s. . 280 0 0
£455 12 6
Such would have been the expenses and such the produce on
a well-managed fann, with prices "ruling" as they have averaged
for many years, and before the very recent introduction of
improved machinery and artificial manures, all which ought to
be taken into account in considering the necessity of agricidtural
protection ; but we will not complicate our calculations by esti-
mating the advantage derived from any of them, excepting
artificial manures, which may be easily valued. Let us now
see what is the cost of producing and what the value of the
same produce at present free trade prices : —
The four horses consume the same 3 1 2 bushels of
oats, the value of which being now only 2s. per
bushel, instead of 2s. 6d., is .
The wages of two ploughmen, at 8s. a week, in-
stead of 9s. .
The wages of one constant labourer, at 8s., instead
Ox c/S. • ■ • • - • • .
Turnip land : 25 acres manured with guano, pro-
ducing a more certain crop than the dung : — 3
; cwt. per acre — 75 cwt., atlOs. .
Cost 01 hoeing these, 7s. an acre, instead of 8s. •
The 250 ewes and lambs fattened with 250 bushels
of peas, at. 3s. 3d. per bushel •
Barley land : seed for 25 acres — 75 bushels at 3s.
Drilling, mowing, stacking, thatching, and thrash-
ing the crop, at 13s. 3d. per acre
Clover : hay-making on 12^ acres, at 4s. 9d.
Wheat land: seed for 25 acres — 75 bushels, at 5s.
Reaping, stacking, thatching, thrashing crop, at
18s. per acre .....
Expense of cultivation on free trade prices
£ s. d.
31 4 0
41 12 0
20 16 0
37
10
0
8
IS
0
40
12
6
11
5
0
16
11
3
2
19
5
18
15
0
22 JO 0
£252 10 2
Digitized by
Google
£343
8
9
455
12
6
366
4
6
£89
8
0
343
8
9
252
10
2
SHOULD RENTS BE LOWERED? NO. 43
Under the same free trade prices, the value of the same
produce will stand as follows : —
Barley land : 25 acres producing, as before, 800 £ s. d.
bushels, but at Ss. only a bushel . . 120 0 0
Clover : 12J- acres fed by 75 sheep, the 375 lbs.
of wool produced by which is now worth 15d.
per lb. . . . . . . 23 8 9
Wheat land : 25 acres producing as before 800
bushels, but at 5s. . . . . 200 0 0
Thus we have seen the value of produce under
protection to be .
Deduct cost of producing ....
Balance profit ....
Value of produce under free trade
Deduct cost of producing
Balance profit .... £90 18 7
It will be understood that this balance does not represent the
profit from the whole farm, as we have not given credit for any
improvement in the sheep — generally calculated at twenty
shillings each. We have only sought to show the practical
effect of the repeal of the com laws if the value of com and of
wages be permanently lowered as it is supposed by many that
they will be. The result does not appear to be so very disastrous !
On the contrary, the free trade farmer of 100 acres receives
£l. 10s. 7d. more than he did in the wept-for times of compa-
rative high prices !
But we toU not allow that this is his only gain. Will he not
gain in the lessened cost of implements ? in the lessened cost
of clothing and maintainance for himself and family ? in the
lessened amount of poor rates ? — ^for, even this winter, they are
lower than they were last year, in most parishes ? Will he not
gain by this stiU-increasing price of meat and wool ? — ^for as
^e price of bread is lowered to the mass of the people, they
will have more money to spend in clothes and in meat.
^^Lord, SirP' a relieving officer in our union lately said to us,
^^ Lord, Sir ! what a sight of meat we could eat in this country
if we had but the money to buy it with ! "
And consistently witih this argument, we do not believe that
the average price of wheat win continue so low as five shillings
a bushel — or forty shillings a quarter. As the price of the
Digitized by
Google
44 SHOULD RENTS BE LOWERED? NO.
lb*ticle falls, people will begin to require it of a better quality ;
and so, becoming accustomed to good wheaten bread, will raise
the price of it upon themselves and will not afterwards return to
coarser food. Those who are older than we are, can remember
when barley and oat bread and cakes were generally the food
of the labourer in this country, as they still are in remote dis-
tricts and in Scotland. Dr. Johnson described oats as "The
food of men in Scotland and of horses in England.''
" Yes, Sir," replied the Scotchman ; " and where do you see
finer horses and finer men ? "
But however national vanity might apologise for them, national
taste is becoming more refined : and, north and south of the
Tweed, pure wheaten flour is beginning to be most esteemed.
Not anticipating this refinement, we ourselves did, this last year,
sow a field with wheat and barley mixed — the peasantry around
us having hitherto always gladly bought for their meal that
which was better than all barley and cheaper than all wheat :
but when we sent it to market yesterday, they turned up their
noses at it ! — They can afibrd to buy good wheat now.
When dining some years ago with one of the ministers of the
late King of Saxony and wifii many of the diplomatic corps,
white wheaten bread and black rye bread were carried round to
the guests ; but we observed that, almost all the Germans se-
lected the rye bread. Their taste is more educated now.
Yet let it not be supposed that we deny the existence of dis-
tress amongst the agricultural class : but it is distress occasioned
by the potato blight followed by the disastrous rains of last year
— a year of spoiled com, of spoiled hay, and of spoiled straw ;
a year in which the panic, occasioned by suicidal protectionist
landlords, prevented their tenants firom getting more than two-
thirds of its value for all stock sheep and catde they forced
upon the market. All were to be ruined, and it was sauve qui
pent. Those whose com crops had failed, were obliged to
raise money by selling their stock ; and those who wanted to buy,
not only took advantage of these necessities, but still more of
the panic cry raised by ignorance and party spirit: they bought
stock with the air of the Indian widow sacrificing herself on fiie
funeral pjrre of her protector, or rather with that of the poor
woman who was hanged the other day in a swoon, having whis-
pered to the executioner to give her as little pain as possible.
By the conspiracy or the panic of all, this depression was attri
buted to firee trade : and firee trade is now made to answer for
the present low prices of com by those who wilfully forget that
no duty has been able to keep up the value heretofore in the
fEice of an abundant harvest. In 1835, the average price was
lower than it is now : end we much doubt whether it would, \
Digitized by
Google
VEASES FOR THE MONTH. 4d
with the splendid crops of this season, be higher if foreign com
was excluded now as rigorously as it was then.
However : we would refrain from entering upon all problema-
tical disquisitions. Our only object has been to show what are
really the effects of low prices upon farmers, whether those
prices be occasioned by free trade or over production ; and to
prove to our readers that the outcry which has been raised
against rents is as ignorant as we believe it to be evil-intentioned.
For this reason, we have not given details of the whole manage-
ment of a farm : they were unnecessary to illustrate the assertion
at the head of this paper. We think, we have maintained it :
we think we have proved that land can be cultivated as profit-
ably now as it was in those days which are for ever passed
away ; and, consequently, that landlords are not called upon to
lower their rents.*
VERSES FOR THE MONTH.
THE ANNUNCIATION.
Justice aveng'd : but Mercy said
" The woman's seed shall crush the serpent's head."
Four thousand years had pass'd away ;
And man, 'mid sin and strife.
Now look'd for Him whose promis'd sway
Should give back unknown life ;
Should open heaven and thus restore
Forgotten bliss — lost long before.
Oft had the promise been renew'd :
And many a Jewish maid had sigh'd
And marvell'd, when a blushing bride.
If He from her should spring ; —
* We copy the following from tiie ** Western Times," of February 8th.—** I know mv srandAither
coltivated poor soils, and made a profit on his trade, and sold wheat at 3s. 6d. per bnshel ; and car-
ried lime in bass, on hones* backs, 15 or 16 miles. Spare toorkf this. Don't yoa think, * Tenant
Parmer in the West/ we obtain manure 50 per cent cheaper than this, now-ardays— eh?
" This same man paid £60 for a thrashing and winnowing machine. Now I can obtun two, very
superior implements to his, for £25, A wrought iron ploiu;hshar6 cost him new 5s., and 5s. more
in sharpening, steefing, and lying, before it was worn out (to plough about 60 or 70 aores). I can
obtain a chilled cast iron share, to plough the same quantity of land, for Is. This same man sold his
batter at from ^d. to 6d. per lb. ; and gave 3d. to 4Ad. per lb. for salt. He paid 50 ^r cent, more
than yon and I need, for the glass in his windows, the dothing for his person and his household;
«nd every other thing was hjfu more than two-sevenths dearer than you and I, or any other former
now need give. Do you caU this all nothing, 'Tenant Farmer in the West T If you have done so
for time past, you must not for the time to come.
"ShaDwe then despair, with aU our enli^tenment, and improved implements, and new manures,
^,&e.? No! I say we need not eyen return to the old rents paid by our grand&tfaers. Cheap
doOiing, cheap cotton goods, and cheap everything wHl follow ; and being better informed in our
business, we can certainly grow three bushels of wheat with less expense than our grand&OMni
Srew two; oonsequeoOy we can pay one-half more rent than was paid by them (our forarathera, say
previous to 1780)."
Digitized by
Google
46 VERSES FOR THE MONTH.
If He, whom prophets had foreshow'd
As Saviour, priest, and king.
Should bless her race, should bless her name
With fame beyond all other fame.
But not from man could God arise —
God, though self-exil'd from the skies.
His passage from His throne must be
All purity and mystery.
Mary ! in thee would God come down.
Thou full of grace ! thou blessed one !
Thou virgin holy, undefil'd, —
Thine — thine shall be that heavenly child.
Blest be the day, for ever blest.
When Gabriel went, on God's behest.
And bore, to yon poor Jewish maid.
Tidings for which the world had pray'd : —
Tidings that He, desir'd by all.
At length would come to break their chain : —
Would come to loosen Satan's thrall —
Would come to open heaven again.
Oh, blessed hour ! The promise given
In paradise, shall now be wrought ;
The woman's seed shall open heaven.
The serpent's head be crush'd to nought.
The legend now, the mystery
Shall prove a truth divine :
The woman's son God's Son shall be,
And Mary^-Mary — thine !
Look up, thou lowly Jewish maid !
Accept the high behest :
Let not the greetings Gabriel said
Alarm thy gentle breast.
Oh magnify the Lord : confess
The wonders He has done :
Nor fear to say how men will bless
Thee, too, tiiou favoured one !
Nations have bless'd thee — ^bless thee now —
Will call thee "bless'd" for aye :
Mother of God, to thee we bow —
For us, dear Mary pray.*
• From '• Catholic Hymns in Enfl^lisb that may be snnflr to the old Church
Music." By J. R. Beste, Esq., published by Burns & Lambert.
Digitized by
Google
47
LEAVES FROM MY JOURNAL.
24th January, 1850 — I had tarried long in one of the beautiful
villas that arise amid the western extension of our mighty
metropolis. Minutes, half hours, nay hours had sped away,
while we talked of phrenology — of theology — of mutual friends
— of mutual sorrows : — of tibe past — of Ae unforgotten : — her
fine face and figure had lighted up with more than usual anima-
tion as she spoke of the wrongs of Ireland — ^her bright eyes
had been dimmed as she referred to the murdered peasantry of
Kikush. Then rapidly had her spirited ponies whirled me back
to Long's Hotel, and left; me to discuss the details of business —
the chances of an exciting speculation.
Other engagement, other hope for the evening had failed:
and my last night in London was about to hang heavy on my
hands, when the image of the theatre, that reAige of the home-
less, uprose before my imagination. To the Hajrmarket : — ^be
it so : — and, to the Hajrmarket, I slowly wended my way.
^^A change came o'er the spirit of my dream." I stood
within its porch, but the wish to enter had left; me. I imagined
all the tinsel glare — the forced wit — ^the unnatural acting of
these degenerate times. I bethought me of Lord Chesterfield's
advice to his son— that I should leave my stock of common
sense with my money at the door, to be picked up again as I
came out of the house. But it was not a case, it was not a
question of common sense ; or I would not have cared to part
with it : it was a question of imagination, of feeling ; and quite
aware that I should, indeed, have to leave these at the door on
entering, 1 doubted whether 1 should be able to find them again
on my return.
"Who shall administer to a mind diseased ?" — who but Thou
only. Thou refiige of the desolate! "Oh!" methought, "oh
that a quiet church were open, a peaceful sanctuary amid this
ungodly hubbub ! The Oratorians ! my quiet oratory in
King William Street! Dear St. Philip Neri; you "went to
heaveix laughing," for you knew and you pitied the wants of a
great city ; and who faiows but that your pious successors in
London may have provided for such longings as I now feel ?"
What a change from the glitter of the porch of the Hay-
market theatre to the dim and soiled, but well-worn, steps of
the Oratory ! The congregation was dropping in ; humbly,
noiselessly, pipusly they sought their seats on the unreserved
benches. Modestly the women past to one side, the men to
Digitized by
Google
48 LEAVES FROM MY JOURNAL.
the other side of the nave. Rapidly the throng increased ; but
still, piously, noiselessly, humbly they found them room in the
crowded benches. And I noticed, as a peculiarity of the con-
gregation of this chapel, the charity with which each one who
was already seated strove to make additional room, and, dis-
regardfiil of personal inconvenience, to accommodate beside
himself a new comer, however poorly clad.
The spirit of pews and of reserved seats lived not here.
The service began. No artistic choir trilled forth studied
solfeggios in the name of a listening congregation : but the
congregation itself uplifted its untaught voice ; and, uninspired
by aught but the feeling of piety and prayer, put up strains
that would not, perhaps, so soon have ^'raised a mortal to the
skies," but yet, methought, would sooner have ^^ drawn an angel
down,"* than would the better modulated accents of hireling
mediators.
And now the hymns were ended — would that they could have
been sung in English ! — and now I listened, for three parts of
an hour, to a discourse on the festival of the morrow — ^the con-
version of St. Paul : — good St. Philip Neri loved to preach on
the lives of the saints and on the festivals of the time : — ^and then
were the tapers around the tabernacle illuminated, and lights
and countless lights tjrpified our love and our piety to the Most
High. The altar was a blaze of flame; and when the richly-robed
priest entered and upraised in his consecrated hands, Him who
deigned, unseen but bodily, to dwell amongst us and to bless
us — down, down went every head, and high, aye heavenly-high
aloft sprang every heart and every mind. Oh blessed tears, that
gush imbidden from the downcast eye ! No, ye shall not be
restrained ! Flow over those burning lids : course silently
adown that quivering cheek. Give to the pent up spirit some
vent for all it feels. Though worldly sorrows may, in part,
create ye, they alone would never have allowed ye to rise :
religion, love, hope and piety — all these unite their separate
and most holy influences ; all these rush together to create that
rapturous sorrow, that teeming love, that blend earth with
heaven, and already give a foretaste of the bliss of the elect.
Oh there must be, indeed, a heavenly bliss in tears !
The cheering service was over ; and silently we all wended
our way from the humble but consoling Oratory. And as I
'* Let old Timotheus yield the prize
Or both divide the crown :
He rais'd a mortal to the skies^
She drew an angel down."
Dryden's Ode for St Ceeilias Day.
Digitized by
Google
LEAVES FROM MT JOURNAL. 49
I read it again: yes, there is the inscription that so
opportunely caught my glance : there is the retired bench where,
on New Year's Day, at my first visit to this quiet church, I knelt,
during the most holy sacrifice, and prayed, with sorrowing
heart, that it might please Him who was being ofiered for me
and for all of us, that this year might be my last. Fervently I
prayed that my spirit might "fly away and be at rest ;" when,
raising my eyes to enforce the not-impious appeal (not impious,
for it was put forth in submission to the divine appointment) I
first saw tiiat inscription over the side altar. I saw it and
started back ; and my prayer was checked in its upward flight':
for it seemed addressed to my heart : —
AspicE Stellam: voga Maejam.
Yes, Mary, holy star of this world-troubled sea! I did call upon
thee. Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death : pray
for us that we may await that death patiently and with cheerful
resignation to the designs of thine adorable Son.
I returned to my hotel, and did not regret that I had exchanged
the Haymarket Theatre for the Oratory.
25th January. I am sometimes puzzled to recollect whether
I have a personal knowledge of past events or one formed only
upon hearsay and reading. Imagination easily supplies the
reminiscences that might linger firom a state of prior existence.
I almost doubt whether I really remember all the dissatisfaction
that was occasioned by the first construction of turnpike roads;
the hostility to toll bars — greater even than that of the more
modem Welsh heroine — and the evils that were anticipated to
country morality by bringing it thus in comparative contact with
the wickedness of towns. Then came the establishment of mail
coaches wliich surely must be firesh in the memory of every one.
What pity was bespoke for the keepers of road-side Inns whose
niin was certain to be occasioned by the more rapid conveyance
of passengers ! They asked for indemnity firom government :—
just as borough-mongers did since, and as protectionist land-
owners do now : and the proprietor of the coach whose waybill,
dated about eighty years back, I have seen at the Black Swan at
York, and which annoimces that, owing to improved arrangements,
It will thenceforth make the journey firom York to London " in five
days, God willing " — ^the proprietor of this Swift Sure naturally
conceived that he had a vested interest in the well-measured
pace of a journey to London. But, as the proverb saith, every
dog has his day : so when I lately sent to consult a friend as to
what inight be the value of the copy-right of a certain book, he
faga^iously wrote to ask me the subject of the work — whether
^t wag a treatise on railroads or on stage coaches.
Digitized by
Google
50 LEAVES FBOM MY JOURNAL.
"But wherefore this exordium^ you will say:" merely to
show how railroads must have ruined imis. Thus I drove into
what is now the best hotel at Kingston. Pitiable is its present
state. I was shown into the only room in which was a fire : —
it was the " commercial room." A gentleman sat at his break-
fieist : and while mine was being prepared, he conversed intelli-
gently on different subjects. I made my tea and poured me
out a cup.
" Well, Sir," he asked : "can you drink it ?"
" I must," I replied : " I cannot tell, from the taste, whether
it be black or green or coffee or chocolate : but there is evidently
nothing better in the house, so that drink it I must."
" Not at all," he exclaimed: "no must in the case. They
made me some of the same stuff; but I threw it away. I am in
the tea trade. I opened my samples, and made something
wholesome. There is the teapot ftdl, at your service."
I learned better to appreciate the advantages of the Commer-
cial Room: and to rejoice that we are, as Napoleon said, "a
nation of Shopkeepers."
2nd February. At the house of a friend, I, this day, met with
a Catholic newspaper which, though it has lately deserted us as
unworthy of its domestic, political and ecclesiastical dictation,
still maintains a correspondent amongst us. Turning to the
letter of this correspondent, I read an account of the service at
the beautiful cathedral of St. George ; and a touching description
of the manner in which it had affected all present. One Hercu-
lean Protestant was observed, by the writer, to listen most
intently to the service till, overcome by his feelings, tears trickled
down his huge cheeks and he finally fainted away. But though
more than six feet high, ynde in proportion and closely wedged
in by the dense mass around, the "correspondent" had carried
him into the open air "without disturbing or even dravdng the
attention of any one present ; and when restored, had again led
him back to his place in church."
I made inquiries as to the present state of this phenamene
gras et inieressant, (as the handbills described a "fat boy/'
whom I remember seeing in France for ten sous) and was sorry
to learn that his recovery had only been temporary. They had,
however, erected to his memory a Tablet.
8th February. This being Friday, a large party is, of course,
collected at dinner in my neighbouihood. In every neighbour-
hood in England, three dinner parties out of four take place on
a Friday : — a custom remaining, I presume, from those olden
dmes*— «hnost three hundred years old! — when the Catholic
.foith was suppressed in Enghund and people wished to prove
that "they were honest men and eat no fish." The Bishop of
Digitized by
Google
LEAVES FROM MT JOURNAL. 5)
8— 1— y was expected at my Mend's house ; and I passed higf
trayelling carriage on the road. The Bight Bey. Father in
God sat within ; his third wife was at his side, and, in her lap,
an infiant. They were whirled rapidly on ; but as they drove
by, I observed a child's wicker cradle strapped on the top of
the travelling imperial behind.
One of his clergy said to me in the afternoon, ^^I certainly
regret that his Lordship should have married a third tim^,
although he asserts that the injunction of the Apostle only
means ih.^,t a Bishop should not have more than one wife a^
once : — and he never had more : — but the baby being there, you
cannot find fault with the cradle ?"
"None in the world!" I e^pclaimed. "When the student of
Salamanca returned to his imiversity, he was eagerly ask^d
what he had seen in his travels in England. ^What I have
seen V he cried : ^ I have seen — I have seen bishops and bisjiop*
esses and bishoppeens !' The Bishop of S — 1 — ^y's bishoppeen
must be taken care of; and I decidedly approve of thjB cradle.'*
His Cathedral churchy by the way, has the finest spire in the
world : those of Strasbourgh and Vienna are not to be con^*
pared to it. I am not about to describe it ^ but I have just m^
the great nephew of the heroine in a tragical incident that
occurred within its sombre vaults. As I can vouch for the
truth of the story, I will record it here. The Wyndham f^flcdiy
possess a handsoi^e mansion in the Cathedral Close. The
lady of the house &11 sick, and was buried in the family vaul^
in the Cathedral, within a gun shot of her own residence. A
handsonae ring — a hoop of brilliants — ^was left upon her finger.
This became known to the sexton. |Ie concealed hin^self
in the church, and, in the dead of the night, found his way
into the vault, a diarkened lantern in his iWd. He forced
open the coffin, toye down the shroud thrown over the body,
and saw the ring glittering on the hand that lay sjlxaightr
drawn upop the white robe that enwrapped the corpse. There
was a somewhat unusual e:^pression upon the fair youthfol feice;
but the sacrilegious robber turned his eyes quickly fi*om it ; and
grasping the death-cold hand, pulled at thie jewelled ring he
coYeted. Apparently, the finger wits swollen, for he couJd wt
force it beyond ^e knuckle. Agi^jii a^d again he pulled, but
still in vain. With an oath, he set jdown his laqtem; and drawr
iog a knife from his pockel^ opened tl^e blunted blade^ and once
niore grasped the w^te and clami^y h^nd. He thru3t the knife
above the ri^g, between it and the n^xt fii^ger, aaxd cut a dpep
g94h ifiBt, reached the slender J^oQe. A shudder passed over
the corpfe, ^f)Ji a deep-4ri8uwn 4gh iupl;^eavied its c^esjb. 7^
robber fstOQ4 M ^9ffP petrified. T^ Mps of l^&jc jhe b^eved to
e2
Digitized by
Google
52 LEAVES FBOM MY JOURNAL.
be dead began to move. He dreaded to hear a curse pronounced
upon him from the other world ; and rushed wildly from the
vault and from the church.
Blood flowed from the finger of her who was supposed to be
dead. Gradually her senses returned : she opened her eyes ;
then quickly closed them again, as to shut out a horrid dream.
But the dream would not be shut out. And as she recovered
frill consciousness, she understood all that had passed and
where she now was. With an effort, she raised herself from the
coffin, and gathered her long white shroud around her. She
had ever been familiar with every part of the Cathedral; and
with the help of the light left by the flying sexton, she groped
her way to Ae door which he had omitted in his flight to shut.
She crossed the close ; and rang at the door of her own house
from which she had been carried with frmeral pomp on that very
morning.
It is a curious fact — and it is a fact — that the servants of the
house reftised to admit her. They insisted that it was their
lady's ghost that was at the door ; and it was not until, with
bell and knocker, she had drawn her husband's attention, that
he himself opened to her, and received and folded her in his
arms.
She lived for many years after this at the College, and gave
birth to more than one child.
11th February. I have to-day seen an equipage still more
extraordinary than that of the Bishop of S. At a place, popu-
larly known by the vulgar name of " the four forks," now up-
rises a large building from the summit of which a broad banner
flouts the wind and displays, on its ample folds, the Lion of
Judah. This is the castle of those who caU themselves the Latter
Day Saints. Their prophet was taking an airing in his usual
ostentatious style. Six handsome horses drew a carriage be-
dizened with the representations of the Lion of Judah, wild beasts
and lambs in peaceful confusion. Outriders blew horns as they
passed : and two other carriages, drawn by four horses each,
followed with the ladies of the establishment.
I can learn litfle of the peculiar tenets of these people. A
clergyman, formerly of the established church, seems to be their
principal supporter ; but they make converts, acquire property,
and have recently purchased a considerable estate. Their ene-
mies tell nothing against their morality and peaceable conduct :
and as it has been recently decided in our courts of law that a
lady who had joined their society was not necessarily mad and
had, therefore, been improperly sent to a lunatic asylum, we must
presume that the Latter Day Saints are not mad. The courts
of law are highly esteemed in England as tribunals to adjudicate
Digitized by
Google
LEAVES FROM MY JODRNAL. 53
upon questions of religious faith ; and, on their testimony, I do
firmly believe that the Latter Day Saints are not — ^more mad
than many other pious sectaries in this country.
15th. 7'here is a society of learned men in England — I for-
get the designation in which its members delight: but they
wander from place to place, like the royal agricidtural society ;
investigating all that is supposed to be interesting and ancient in
each neighbourhood. About four years ago, they were at South-
ampton, and afi;er examining the really curious bits of antiquity
that had been dug up in the grounds of the ancient Roman
Clausentum (and rejoicing still more in the hospitable mansion
of Bittern Manor that has arisen above its foundations) they all
proceeded to a farm near Winchester on which ihey had been
told were some curious tumuli or barrows which had not yet
been examined. Elated with the anticipation of making dis-
coveries equal, at least, to those of Columbus, they invaded the
fanner's barton in a body.
" Good day to you, Mr* Smith," exclaimed the most eager of
the band, addressing the astonished yeoman. "We have heard
that you have some curious barrows on your farm, and we would
wish to inspect them, if you please."
" Barrows on my farm," replied Mr. Smith, not at all pleased
at seeing such a number of happy and zealous-looking strangers
invade his premises. " I never had more than two barrows
on the place ; and Bob Dolens has borrowed one, and t'other's
a broke. But the wheel on't lies under the shed there ; and e
may look at un as much as e likes."
I have just passed Silbury Hill — the largest barrow, not
wheel-barrow, in England. This, also, has been inspected by
learned antiquaries, who cut into the centre of it to rifle the
bones of the dead, without, I rejoice to say it, finding anything.
Have these lovers of science no sympathy with those "who raised
the mould around the stone, and bade it speak to other years ? "
" Speak to the people, oh stone," they said, " after Selma's race
have fiedled. Rrone from the stormy night, the traveller shall
lay him by thy side : whistling moss shaU sound in his dreams;
the years that are past shall return. Battles rise before him —
blue shielded kings descend to war : the darkened moon looks
from heaven on the troubled field. He shall burst, with morn-
ing, from dreams, and see the tombs of warriors round. He
shall ask about the stone, and the aged shall reply, ' This grey
stone was raised by Ossian, a chief of other years !' " This may
be ridiculed — it is the fashion to ridicule Ossian, and to despise
all poetry in this intellectual age — ^but methinks it embalms a
better feeling than that prurient curiosity which ransacks the
tombs of the dead, because they have been dead a long while.
Digitized by
Google
54 LfiAVBS FROM MY JOURNAL.
Med whose sensibilities would rerolt from the idea of rifling the
doffih of one interred within their own memory, scruple not,
from Silbury Hill to a desecrated cathedral where rests the
coffin of soine sainted Catholic bishop — ^from the mausoleums of
Rome to the burial-grounds of Magna Grecia and the pyramids
of Egypt — ^to inrade the last homes of the mighty dead in order
that cockneys of London, or hadeatis of Paris, may gaze through
the glass case of a museum, on a coin, a bone, a bit of broken
gllBtss, or a rusty hatchet — ^the ticketted and labelled proofs of
dieir sacrilegious success. I rejoice when such men are foiled
by fiiiding, as at the great pyramid —
" That not a pinch of dust nanains of C3»a|B.^
28th February. — What were the words that Nelson signalled
to his fleet before the batde of Trafalgar ? " England expects
erery man '^ what else ? We have all heard of them, and
boasted of them, and foreigners have envied us the inheritance
of them for the last half century : what were they ? " Englatid
expects every man to do his duty ?" So they had registered
themselves in tny mind : by them I had fancied every man in
the fleet to have been electrified — ^and that before the battle*
It seems I was mistaken; Or, perhaps, ad we have disgraced
what Sir Robert iPteel designated as " the finest site in Europe,''
by mast-heading the admiral in Tra&lgar Square, so we may
have misquoted his words to make them in keeping with all our
btiler outrages upon good taste aJ*otmd. One of the bas-reliefs
has, at length, been fixed, I see, on the pedestal of the Nelson
column : it represents the hero falling amid a scetie of camage,
arid iihdemieath is inscribed " England expects every man will
do his duty." This does not read to me like the saiiie sen-
timent as the other conveys ; and if I were writing for the public,
I think I 6ould prove that " unlV^ to be as wrong in grammar,
as it is laboured in efiect. I am certain that Nelson nevet
spoke it. As well might they change the present into the futilre
teni^ i^ Na^olebn's famous address before the battle of the
Pyii^mids — ^^ Du sommet de ces moiiuments quatre mille sieclets
vous regardent. JVom the tops of these monuments fouir
thousand years look down upon yott."
Very fine : but what Nelson said is grander in its simplicity.
KOTICE TO OUa RBABERS.
We Aave id announce thai Mr. Dolman, Ufho estobliahed thU Periodieal and watched over it far
tome years t luu toithdtawn from all connexion with U; and is, ednseqiientlyy no longer reeponme
for anythimf thai may appear in it$ pages.
Our readers will also Uam with regret that the Aev. jE. Price, who has laUerly so ably ediied
the work, hiu been indiiced,by the tncreasing labours qf his mission,to resign duties which m could
no longer Jill with justice to those Subscribers'^ whose kindness and support has ever shown thstt
they diOy appreciated kis care, abilUy, temper, and diseretidn. t%s present Proprietor of the
Bibat9TBB AMB MaV^aziItb hos, however, 'much graUAcation in announcing UuU he has stul the
' advantage of that r^vefend ufriter's support and cmUnbwtioks.
Digitized by
Google
55 •
REGISTER
ov
NEW PUBLICATIONS, CORRESPONDENCE, AND EVENTS.
The Editor of the Catholic Maoazihb asd Bkoibtib detins thtt his Cones-
pondents and Contributors msy slone be held responsible for the opinions and
sentiments that each may express. But he invites oor Venerahle Clergy and all
Catholics to send him information on all matters of religioas interest in their
se? eral neighbourhoods.
NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.
r CoMjnlum, or the Meeting of the Ways at the CathoUc Church. The Third
Book. Dolman.
A fonner Number of this periodical contained so fiill an aoooont of this
valuable work, that we feel called upon to notice only sliffhtlir, the appearance
of this, the third volume. like all that is written by Kendm Digby, it is a
spiritual po^— -redolent of sweets, collected from all ages and from all
authors, and blended together by the firagrance of his own Catholic spirit.
In this volume, does he show us how the Road of Friends, the Road of
Union, the Road of Strangers, the Road of the Commonalty, the Road of
Active life, the Road of Workmen, the Road of the Poor, the Road of
f Capiaves, all meet together in the Catholic Church, " from which spiritual
centre the traveller cannot turn without resisting, either unconsciously or
deliberately, the special influence that exists upon it to guide him, and vio-
lating, with more or less of responsibility in consequence, some duty and
some principle of his nature."
How beautiful is the author's walk on the Road of the Poor I How true
his appreciation of. their long-suffering, and of Uie tender soUoitude, the un-
tiring charity of the Church and her sainted Clergy towards them I By
them knights and nobles and sovereigns were inspired, and the poor in
floods were rich in the sympathy of the world. We hope this work will be
universally read : no one can read a book by Kenelm Digby and not be
nuule wiser and better by it.
The Complete Gregorian Plain Chant Manual, ^c. ^c. Bv the Rev. W.
Kelly, M.A. In Two Volumes ; Vol. 2. London : Richardson.
We congratulate Mr. Kelly on the completion of this his veiy laboriouA
undertaking. Fifteen hundred and eighty-nz fuU^siaed octavo pages of
church music, text, annotations, and copious critical remarks, must have
required no ordinary patience to surmount, and to have brought forward in
the correct and elegant form in which this valuable work is now presented
to the Catholic public, in this, its present state of completeness. In the
former pages of this periodical, we pointed out the merits of the first volume,
and passed a well-merited eulogium on its multifarious contents. The
present and concluding volume under notice is deserving the same praise*
It is of exceeding great utility, and need onlv be read to be appreciated as it
deserves. In the rapidly advancing state of Catholicity — ^in tne wide deve-
lopment of its beautiful resources — in the increasing order and exactness of
its ceremonial, we want the means and appliances necessary for this develop*
ment still more widely diffused. Among these, churdi music bean an
Digitized by
Google
56 NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.
important and very prominent part — ^not so raucH instrumental, as vocal and
choral music— the glorious plain chant of the olden time, now gathered
together and strung into one garland of magnificent dimensions under the
fostering care and studious ability of a zealous and laborious Catholic Mis-
sionarv. Everything relative to the Roman Processional is contained in this
second volume. Mr. Kelly's prefatory remarks on the public processions,
or supplications which the Catholic Church, from the most remote antiouity,
has been accustomed to practise, are of singular research and ability. They
c6me at the right and fitting season, when those beautiful public and devo-
tionary displays are becoming happily so frequent. Every hymn, response,
and anthem, from Advent to Advent again, are here inserted, both words
and music. The Vesper service also forms a large portion of this bulky
volume, and with all the supplementary festivals. This is a great boon, and
prevents the turning from book to book, as commemorations are chanted in
the choir. All the hymns of the divine office too are given ; they are me-
trically classed, including those recently inserted in the breviary; and various
and copious examples are given of singing the hymns belonging to each
metre. And not less useful are the concluding pages of this work, devoted
by their talented and laborious author to a few plain directions for chanting
the Divine Office. Its last words are singularly well chosen, and happy. —
" In fine, an excellent means to sing well, is to bear in mind what we owe to
God, whose praises we sing, and to enter carefully into the meaning of the
words. ' Non damans sed amans cantat in aure Dei,' says St. Bernard —
' Not clamorously but lovingly, let each one sing in the ear of God.' ' Psallam
spiritu, psallam mente.' 1 Cor. xiv. 15, — 'I wUl sing with the spirit, I will
sing also with the understanding.' " We trust that a large and remunerative
sale of this valuable work will repay Mr. Kelly and his spirited publisher
for their unwearied exertions in behalf of the ancient psalmody of the Church.
Tears on the Diadem ; or, the Crown and the Cloister, By Mrs. Anna H.
Dorsay. Dolman.
' This is one of a series of repubhcations for " Dolman's Home Library "
of an American work. The authoress is already favourably known to the
public ; and this little volume is calculated to increase her j)opularity with
the readers of it. It embodies passages from the life of our Elizabeth, ^ueen
of Edward IV., than which none coi^d affi>rd matter of more stirring mter-
est : and when we add that these are combined with a considerable know-
ledge of the manners, customs, and feelings of those stirring times, we have
shown that, as a mere story, the work cannot lack interest. But it has also
interest of another kind : the religious feeling that pervades it, will recom-
mend it to Catholic readers : who will be glaa to find their own sentiments
rJB-echoed from beyond the Atlantic.
These works are brought out at a merely nominal price, and in a bold
legible type that must recommend them to all.
Zenonuss or, the Pilgrim Convert. By the Rev. C. C. Pise, D.D. Dolman.
Another little volume of the same series. Those who like to read con-
troversy interwoven with a fictitious story, will delight to follow the American
Pilgrim from New York to Rome, and to see the whole history of religion
unfolded in his inquiries after the truth. Such a history cannot be studied
without giving evidence of the truth of the Catholic faith : and this the
pilgrim quickly acknowledges ; and returns to his own country with the
blessing of the successor of the apostles.
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE* 57
DevaHont far the Quarant* Ore. London : Burns ftnd Lambert.
This 18 a most timely publication and sbould be gratefully bailed by all
who have the opportunity of sanctifying this holy season by a full partici-
pation in the means of grace which our revered Vicar Apostolic has opened
to us. It is published with his Lordship's approbation ; and is most appro-
priately introduced by his Lenten Pastoral of 1849, in which the objects and
the motives of these holy devotions are explained. We advise all Catholics
to make use of this little volume : only regretting that the hymns cannot be
sang to the old Church music.
CORRESPONDENCE.
To the Editor of the '* Catholic Register and Magazine,"
Sir. — ^The solemn devotional time of Lent is kept extremely well in
London. It is edifying to read the long list of devotional exercises to be
performed at each Catholic church or chapel during the Lenten period. It
18 still more edifying and consoling to witness the crowds that nightly
assemble to hear the word of God, to join in prayer, and receive the bene-
diction of our Blessed Lord in his most holy sacraments The missionary
retreats alreadv given by the Rev. Fathers of the Passion and the Oratory
have been productive of wonderful holy ikiits. The good have been sus-
tained, strengthened, and advanced in the road of piety and perfection ; the
hidifferent and the lukewarm have been stimulated to fervour; and an almost
countless host of poor sinners have been converted to repentance and a
hearty amendment of life. A great number, too, of Protestants have been
received into the Church, and already begin to reap great spiritual fruits in
their conversion from error to truth, from doubt to certainty, from a cold
and barren and empty ceremonial, to the magnificent aids and true conso-
lations of the Apostolic Church of God. But the great feature of Lent, and
its greatest spiritual charm and consolation, is the forty hours prayer. By
day and by night, and that continuously — ^from Ash Wednesday to Palm
Sunday — the exposition of the Adorable Sacrament goes on in silent, fervent,
concentrated prayer and heartfelt adoration. And when the song of praise
in the Tantum Ergo ceases in one chapel, it is, on the instant, sweetly
taken up in another, so that those who have the time and opportunity may
C daily, and at every hour, in this most beautiful and consolatory rite.
Lent it was productive of wonderful spiritual fruit and benediction.
We may humbly hope for an increased share of spiritual blessings during
this present Lent. The London clergy are^all zealously and indefatigably
employed in the furtherance of the good work. Their confessionals are
crowded from an early hour till late each night, and every da^ the altar
rails are thronged with communicants. And this religious revival is done
without noise or ostentation. The spirit of God moves the hearts of the
dear people to come and hear the word ; that word fructifies in theb hearts,
and without scarce an exception produces its blessed fruits in a good con-
fession, a good communion, and a change of life so wonderful^ for the
better.
And good Father Ignatius has been working heart and soul for the con-
version of England. He has preached again and again and to most crowded
congregations for that blessed, and hitherto unhoped for, result, llie
tarest way to attain it is to sanctify ourselves, to purify that decayed and
corrupting mass of Catholicity that festers in our courts, and lanes, and
alleys ; to bring those pariahs of the faith to repentance and a fervent per-
formance of their religious duties. And, thanks be to God, this has now.
Digitized by
Google
58 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
in many qiMrters, been begun in earnest* Larf^e and unmanageable districts
have been divided into parisbes. Each priest baa bis own parish to look
after, and for which he is responsible. House to bouse, and room to room,
visitations have been carried on for some time, and with most signal success.
It is incredible the amouni and number of poor Catholics tliat have been
discovered who were living in crime, and sin, and in the entire neglect of their
religious duties; their children either entirely destitute of education or
religious training, or sent to the ragged and (ustrict schools of Protestant
perversion. And, in many localities, where practicable, missions have been
preached in the densely crowded courts, and many, many hundreds of poor
sinful creatures have been happily reclaimed. This new change of system,
wherever it has been tried, has worked remarkably well. It is one great
step gained before the hierarchy is established. It paves the way natiually
for its, perhaps, necessarily modified introduction into still Protestantizea
England. We hope our provincial brethren in large towns will soon adopt
the same plan. They will find it of infinite advantage, both for themselves
and their flocks. A London Pribst.
To the Editor of the " Catholic Register and Magazine*'
SiB. — ^A very singular, (I am unwilling to call it a very silly), custom has
of late years been growing up and extending amongst us. Not satisfied
with the legitimate distinction conferred on them by the title denoting their
priestly character, a certain number of the clergy seem to aspire to some-
thing more, and, as if they could increase their respectability by assuming
what did not belong to them, have made use of any and of every pretext to
dub themselves ^' Very Reverend." Do, I pray you. Sir, give these gentle-
men a hint of the animadversions which they draw down upon themselves by
this unworthy assumption. The title of "Very Reverend" is the title only of
dean. It belongs as exclusively to that dignitary as does the titie of *' Right
Reverend" to a bishop, or of "Most Reverend" to an Archbishop; and the
persors, therefore, who thus improperly assume it are just as wrong in
principle, though not perhaps in degree, as if they claimed to be designated
by either of the latter appellations.
I am aware that there are instances in which the practice that I am con-
demning originates rather with the laity who have chosen to attribute, than
with the clergymen who are thought to have assumed, the titie in question.
But these instances, I am afraid, are the exception ; and assuredly, from
whatever source the error proceeds, it is high time for all to know, that
deans ahne are " Very Reverend," and that in this country there is but one
person who has a right to bear the title, namely. The Very Reverend Richard
Horrabin, Dean of the Chapter of all England.*
I am. Sir, your obedient Servant, Sacerdos.
* Our respected correspondent must remember that the parties he aUudei
to would rightly assume the title Reverendissimo, which, translated into
English, is Mos^ or Very Reverend.—- Ed. C. R. & M.
To the Editor of the " Catholic Register and Magazine:*
SiR.-*AnBwering to thcTequest of your correspondent " B. T.,** I hasten,
the first moment on my recoveiy from the couch of sickness, to send you the
extract from " La Gazette de France,'* of 18th December, 1849, respecting
the deatii of the notorious Francesoo Salvatorri.
Digitized by
Google
irONTHLY INTELLIOBNCB. 59
''Giovanfii Francesco Sftlvfttorri, mpresentaiive in the Constituent Asaem*
biy At Rome, and one of the most zealous dema^fon^es of the day, took
refuge at Sanra Valle, where he remained forgotten hy all. On the 24th of
November, being suddenly seized irith violent vomiting of blood, he mb»
claimed ' Let me now think of my soul !' and having, with the kind aamt-
aoce of one of the Capuchin monks, made an act of public jMiniarr. died ;
having previously received the last sacraments of holy Ghami, exclaiming
' Timor mortis eonturbat me quia in iiffemo mUU mi redemptio j miserere
met Dens,' "
With regard to L'Abb^ Cbatrttee, Mid iibe letter of his Holiness to the
Archbishop of Paris, " B. T^*' wHl Und it in " La Gazette de France " about
the same date. M* ChtuaXbme is at Naples with the immortal Pius IX. ; but
WB moKk §tm tiie result of his interview will be the same as that of De
fnmrnnils with Gregory XVI. of blessed memory. Mav, however, his
friends act as Montalembert, Lacordaire, Rohrbacher, and others have done.
The Drapeau du Peuple is si^l continued, and becomes daily more and more
revolutionary and really anti-Catholic. — Yours faithfully,
FesL Conv, Sti. PatJi, 1850. A Convert.
To the Editor $/ the '' CathoUc Register and Magazine."
Jesu Christi Passio.
Dear Sir. — ^As you kindly promise me space in the '' Catholic Register,"
for occasional correspondence on the conversion of England, I am unwilling
to allo^ the ensuing number to appear without in some way availing myself
of your permission ; although, being now engaged about a Mission in this
church, I have not time to write at any length. I would wish, at this time,
8im))ly to propose this subject to the consideration of your readers, and
invite them to take an interest in it. I rovself am daily more and more
convinced that it deserves to be regarded with absorbing interest ; and that,
if properly brought into notice, it will be acknowledged to be the subject of
the greatest importance in our day, not only by Catholics but by all others^
who in any point of view have some concern for the welfare of our country%
I conceive that no reasonable person, whether Catholic or not, will deny the
following proposition : that if anything threatens ruin to England, politically,
commercially, socially, morally^ or spiritually; and if any one thing more
than another hinders our advancement in temporal prosperity, power, and
«realth, as well as in all spiritual good — it is our religious divisions. I have
therefore long been proposing to all classes with whom I come in contact,
the removal of these as an object of supreme importance ; and, as the first
means of removing them, I have proposed prayer. Catholics, knowing with
cel-tainty that in the Catholic Church alone can religious unbn be found, are
called to pray for the return of England to this Chmxh. Protestants of all
classes, as they none of them profess the infollibie certainty, which we do, of
being in the truth, are invited to pray in general terms that God would bring
our people to unity in the truth, wheresoever they see this truth to exist. I have
been occupied more or less constantly for more than elevv^n years in soliciting
these prayers from Catholics, and in proposing them likewise Co Protestants
of all parties; and I can speak from experience, that the proposal is approved
in theory by i^l, though it has not hoen acted upon with much energy, and
indeed generally has been almost disregarded in practice, from the idea, as
1 6upJ)ose, that the attempt is vain, and that the object wiU never be gfuned.
'This I maintain is a mistaken id^a; since, so far from this uniott being an
im^Myssib^ty) it is undeniable by any one who bdievea In vevelation^ that if
Digitized by
Google
60 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
we agreed to desire the thing in earnest, it would be attained without farther
delav ; since, long ago Almighty God has declared it to be his will that man-
kind should be united in the truth, and nothing can hinder the accomplisk-
ment of this His will in the whole world, or in any given portion of it, but
the opposition of men.
On these grounds, I maintain that it is our common duty and our common
interest to devote ourselves, at length, really in earnest to this all-important
end. If these first few introductory sentences are considered to have some
foundation in truth, I trust your readers will be pleased to regard with some
interest what may further be brought forward on the subject in your sub-
sequent numbers. — I am, dear Sir, your faithful servant in Jesus Christ,
Presbytery of St, George's Catholic Church, Ign ati us op St. Paul,
London, Feb. 21, 1850. Passionisl,
To the Editor of the " CathoHc Register and Magaxine.'*
Sir. — Can I do better than give you the following extract Arom the
'*Moniteur Catholique" of this excellent Institul^on whence I am now
writing? ''Diocese of Quimper. — Nine brethren of the congregation of
M. I'Abb^ de Lamennais are about leaving this port (Brest) for the colonies.
Seventeen left Havre last week for the Antillus, where they have in their
schools about 8,000 children and adult pupils. M. de Lamennais' congre-
gation in Bretagne number about 205 establishments ; but this, alas, is not
sufficient for the wants of the province, and it is to be hoped that many
more will yet join the novitiate at Ploerroel.'' I arrived here last night, and
am delighted to inform you that our English brethren (now in number
twelve) are going on well. The^r tell me they are all very happy, and indeed
they seem perfectly satisfied with their present position. From my brief
acquaintance with them, last March (for I suppose I must acknowledge my-
self the writer of the letter signed *' Henricus "), they seem endued with
every disposition for the religious life.
Your readers, doubtless, will be glad to hear of the abjuration of a Cal-
vinist soldier atFrescati; his abjuration was received by Mgr. Ludovico
Bosi, Bishop of Canope and V. G. of Xontany, on whom he afterwards
conferred the sacrament of confirmation. Sincerely wishing you every
success in your new form, believe me.
Yours sincerely,
Edward G. Kirwan Browns
Ploermel, *!th day of Lent, 1850.
PARLIAMENTARY RECORD.
7th FBBRUARY. — REPEAL OF PENAL ACTS AGAINST ROMAN CATHOLICS.
Mr. Chisholm Anstey moved for leave to bring in a bill for the repeal
of penal acts against Roman Catholics. He said it was substantially the
same as the bill brought in the year before last. The moment it had been
seconded.
Sir Robert H. Inolib and Mr. Law both rose to oppose it. The latter
gave way, and Sir Robert inquired of Sir George Grey what course govern-
ment meant to take upon this bill ?
Mr. Law also urged the question, in order that the time of the house
might not be wasted.
Sir Gborob Grey appealed to the former course he had taken. He did
not attach much importance to the bill, nor did the Catholic members ; bu
he should support such portions of the measure as he had supported before
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 61
as the acts complained of were, perhaps, better out of the statute-book than
in it
The gallery was again cleared for a division, when the numbers '
for the motion, 72 ; against it, 77 ; majority against the bill, 5.
ECCLESIASTICAL INTELLIGENCE.
Lbntbn Indult for thb London District, 1850. — *' Nicholas, by
the Grace of God, and the favour of the Apostolic See, Bishop of Melipo-
tamus, and Vicar Apostolic of the London District, to our dearly beloved
Brethren and Children in Christ, the Clergy secular and regular, and the
Faithful of the said district,
'* Health and Benediction in our Lord.
" It is our yearly task, deader beloved in Christ, to summon you to the
painful duty of penance and expiation. Year after year, the Church of God
must raise her voice in the midst of this great city, as did Jonas in Nineveh,
or St. John in the wilderness* calling upon all to bring forth worthy fruits
of penance. We may not, with the first, denoimce a determined judgment
of God, a total destruction and final desolation, if the forty days of fasting,
which we proclaim in the coming Lent, be not turned to advantage (John
iii. 4.) : but with the latter we may s^y assure you, that the winnowing
fim is in our Master's hand, separating the wheat from the chaff, and ready
to cast this into the unquenchable fire (Mat. iii. 12.) It is well then for us
to arouse ourselves, ancf to redeem the time (Ephes. v. 16), turning these
approaching days into a truly acceptable time, into days of salvation (2 Cor.
V. 2). Since last Lent, we have had occasion to thank God for having re-
moved a grievous scoiurge that afilicted us ; and it behoveth us to prevent
the growing accumulation of sin, which may provoke a still heavier visitation.
Then let us fast, and weep, and mourn, over sin and iniquity, our own and
those of others, and so wipe away the amount of debt already contracted, and
cancel the instalment of punishment already due. Arrest the Divine judg-
ments on the very thresnold of the opening year, and invoke plenty and
peace, light and truth, mercy and grace, and blessing spiritual and temporal
on its auspicious career.
" For, dearly beloved, the season of Lent is not merely of atonement, and
of correction; it is a time of powerful supplication no less ; of securest appeal
to the Divine bounty as well as the Divine clemency, a time for unlocking
the whole treasunr of Heaven, and obtaining an outpouring of its saving,
and healthful, and enriching stores. It is a period for all to join, in a great
and mightv assault upon Heaven, and to carry its mercies by storm. It is
now that the violent, that is, the fervent, the earnest, the energetic, the per-
severing, combining in one attack upon the kingdom of God (Mat. xi. 12),
will bear it away triumphant, by the crowning of their efforts to snatch away
its mercies.
" Now, it appeared to us, as though it were time for us to ' set our faces*'
with Daniel, ' to the Lord our God, to pray and entreat, in fasting, sackcloth
and ashes ' (Dan. ix. 3), for the self same purpose, of hastening the end of
our long captivity, saying to God : ' O Lord God great and terrible,
we have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedlv and
have revolted ; and we have gone aside from Thy commandments ana Thy
judgments. We have not hearkened to Thy servants the Prophets,' (that is
the teachers of Thy Chiurch), ' that have spoken in Thy name to oui- kings,
to our princes, to our fathers, and to all the people of the land O
Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our princes, and to omr fathers,
that have sinned. But to Thee, the Lord our God, mercy and forgiveness,
for we have departed from Thee Now, therefore, O our God, hear the
Digitized by
Google
62 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
supplication of Thy servant, and his prayera ; and show Thy face upon Thv
sanctuary which is desolate, for Thy own sake O Lord hear! O Loro,
be appeased 1 hearken and do ! delay not for Thy own sake, O my God ! '
(Dan. iv. 19). For although we never should cease from earnest prayer,
that God would visit our country in His mercy, and restore it to the unity
of His Church, or at least greatly multiply in it the number of true believers,
yet are there several considerations, which point out the present Lent as a
time for a more energetic appeal, and a more combined and concentrated
effort.
*' For this our joint entreaty upon earth will be supported by the powerful
advocacy of the many saints of our country, whose feasts seem to have been,
better than by chance, united in this holy season. For we shall have in the
course of this Lent,'a great saint and apostle of every part of our island to
represent our holiest interests at the Throne of Grace ; St. Cuthbert, for the
North (March 20); St. David, for the West (March 1 and 5); St. Felix, for
the East (March 8 and 13); St. Chad, for the Centre (March 2); and St.
Gregory the Great, the Apostle of England (March 12), for this district
more especially, to which he sent St. Augustine, and where he established
the episcopacy to which, in our unworthiness, we succeed. Surely it is not
by accident that all these great patrons of England have met in this narrow
compass, and with them two others most meetiy joined to them, the great
Patnarch, St. Benedict (March 23) ; to whose sons we owe so many of the
glories of our ancient Church, and the Apostle of Ireland, St. Patrick
(March 24) ; whose disciples and devout children now form so large a por-
tion of our flock. We shall then be joined in our prayers by those who
cannot fail lovingly, and earnestly, and efficiently, to second them.
" But it pleases Almighty God at times to give us outward encourage-
ments, and, as it were, gentle allurements to pray more confidently for «
given purpose. For, if the Jews were reproached because they watched not,
and knew not, the religious signs of their times, and shaped not their course
bv them (Mat. xvi. 3), shall we be blind to the symptoms of great religious
cnanges, which should animate us to corresponding exertions ? May we not
clearly see the agitation and uneasiness of men's minds, in regard to that
semblance of a Church in this country, which has deluded many, till now ?
in what manner it is slipping more and more from their hands, in proportion
as they have clasped it the closer, and clung to it more desperately r Are
there not multitudes to be seen upon it, like the crew of a shattered vessel^
who have refused timely escape, that now feel all the insecurity of their
position, feel how disjointed, and breaking piecemeal, is the framework
which they had once thought so solid, and how, with helm abandoned,
compass broken, and skill baffled, even it is reeling and drifting, the world's
sport, towards a dreary reef and a waste shore ? To how many are past
convictions becoming as dreams, and future expectations darkening mto
hopelessness 7 Yes, dearly beloved in Jesus Cnrist, an establishment of
earth's creation has ventured to wrestle with its maker, and is sinking
beneath him. Only to the Church of God has power of victory over the
world been granted. A house built on sand has defied the wind, and the
floods, and the rains, and its foundations are crumbling. Only to the Churcb
that is built on the rock is enduring strength given to cope with the raging
storms of earth and hell.
" It is not to triumph over the anxieties and pain of others, that we thus
speak ; but rather to encourage you to bear them relief. Rush in to their
rescue, snatch them from their perils, and bring them safe into the harbour
of their rest. The grace of God can alone save them ; but our earnest
prayer will draw it down. Let us, then, redouble our supplications for these
poor struggling aouls, whom either the veil of error yet blinds, or the
Digitized by
Google
MONTUlV INT£LUOfiNCR. 6S
inirmity of nature holds captive. God Krant them light to see bow unnatural
is their present position of untmtbful profession, or disguised belief! God
grant them strength to break through the bonds of worldly attachments,
and find true liberty in His holy Church 1
'' But not to any one dass of men must our charity be confined : but
loving the souls of aU whom God has so tenderly loved, as to give his only
begotten Son for their salvation, and loving that truth for its own sake,
which is but Himself, let us pray devoutly and earnestly, that this may
triumph over all errors, and save, without exception, the souls of alL No
matter what form religious error may assume, no matter under what shape
it may destroy souls, we must combat it, and seek its total destruction. But
this is a warfare in which spiritual weapons must alone prevail. It is a
battle in which the uplifted hands of Moses will sway the contest, and
eosare the victory, better than the swords of the valiant (Exod. xvii. 11.)
Let us in solemn procession go round the walls of Jericho, the rival of God's
Jerusalem ; not with the lance and spear, but with the trumpets of jubilee,
and the songs of supplication ; not bearing the ark of the law's covenant of
fear, but the very Lawgiver of the Gospel's sweet dispensation of love ; and
those walls will fall before us (Jos. vi. 20), and we shall enter in, not to smmI
and destroy, but to save and to embrace, and lead forth, not captives, but
brethren.
'* Yes, beloved in our Lord Jesus Christ, it is our wish and intention, and
herein we are sure, that we only second your i»ous desires, that during this
coming Lent, the same devotion, of perpetual adoration of our dear Lord in
the Blessed Eucharist, should be practised, as was last year at this same
season. Much indeed were we consoled and encouraged then, by the
alacrity and piety with which that holy institution was followed ; and much
blessing, we doubt not, was called down by the fervour of the Faithful, and
much spiritual profit and comfort was derived by them from this source of
every good.
^ Then welcome again the return of your Lord, to this lowly triumph of
love which we prepare for Him. Bless His condescension in once more
submitting to be led by us, as it were, from place to place, to satisfy the
devotion, and receive the homage of His children. Strew His way with
flowers, as He comes in meek royalty on His merciful progress ; go with
Hosannas before Him, who cometh in the name of the Lord. Pirepare His
altar. His chosen throng His well-loved mercy-seat ; array it with beauty,
with splendour, with magnificence; place around it, as ye have so well
learned to do, whatever is rich and fair ; let men and angels see that you
love the beauty of God's House, because it is God's. Never let His rest-
ing-place be vrithout worshippers, follow Him to the lowly and distant
chapel, as well as to the richer church, visit Him even widi more devotion
when He is in the midst of His poor, and feel it an honour to be admitted
to help them to honour Him as He deserves.
" In those moments of still and deep fervour, in that humble and loving
adoration, entreat your Lord and Saviour to look out from His temple upon
the stagnant gloom and cold outside, upon the dismal heresy, error, unbe-
lief, sin, and vice that surround it, and form that outward darkness in which
thousands lie bound hand uid foot; and mercifully to dart a ray of light
from that splendour that is in him, to enlighten, to cheer, and quid^n.
Implore Him to look down from His throne in the sanctuary, upon the
miseiy, temporal and spiritual, which crouches at His blessed feet, upon the
unreclaimed sinner, the lukewarm Catholic, the uneducated children, the
starving poor, the almost unknown masses of wretchedness, that form so
great a bulk oi our people ; and to shed a kind glance of compassMuupon
them all, and upon His poor afflicted Church in this country.
Digitized by
Google
64 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
^'ThuB wUl Lent prove to you, dearly beloved, a season of spiritual
graces and of holy joy* Your spirit will feast, while your flesh will fast,
your souls shall be enriched, while your bodies are deprived of what they
covet, by your abundant alms ; you shall enjoy pleasures pure, holy, and
profitable, in the cheerful worship of your Church, in compensation of the
earthly pastimes which you shall renounce.
'* But while we thus earnestly and affectionately exhort you to enter upon
the arduous duties of this holy time, with a resolution to act up, not only to
the letter, but to the spirit of its appointment, we do not forget the exigen-
cies of your weakness, and the demands of this climate and age, and, there-
fore, we grant the dispensations set down at the end of this our Pastoral.
*' Wherefore, ' watch ye, stand fast in the Faith, do manfully, and be
strengthened. Let all your things be done in charity. The grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ beVith you. Amen.' ^2 Cor. xvi. 13-23.)
" Given at London, this second day of February, being the Purification of
our Blessed Lady, in the year of our Lord, 1860.
" Nicholas, Bishop of Melipotamus."
Prior Park.— (From the Pastoral of the Right Rev. Dr. Brown, O.S.B.
Bishop of Apollonia, and V.A. of Wales.) — ^We take this opportunity of
acknowledging, thankfully, your collections last year, in aid of the Seminary
at Prior Park, in which good work, as on many similar occasions, the fore-
most of our Missions was Abergavenny. Those who have not already been
informed, will hear with joy and gratitude, that a blessed instrument of
Divine mercy to that important establishment, has been raised by Providence,
in the person of Alexander Raphael, Esq., of Surbiton Park, M.P.— a gentle-
man who has shown, that he knows how to reconcile with the declaration of
our Redeemer, that riches create an almost insuperable obstacle to salvation
(Matt. xix. 23), those not less inspired words of the Spirit of God : " The
ransom of man's life — the crown of the wise is their ricnes*' (Pro v. xiii. 14).
For him let your grateful prayers ascend to Heaven, invoking upon him
every blessing, who has thus rescued that splendid establishment from the
destruction which threatened it, and the Catholic body in England from the
shame and disgrace which, sooner or later, they would have to endure, for
tolerating its ruin. But though the zeal of one individual has been thus
nobly displayed, there is still greater occasion for farther cordial co-operation,
in order to secure the benefits to religion, which Prior Park is capable of
producing, and which Religion has a right to expect it will be enabled to
accomplish. .
The Irish Collbgbs. — His Grace of Dublin has addressed the following
letter to the Dublin Evening Post— To the Editor of the Tablet. Mount-
joy-square, nth Feb., 1850. Dear Sir. — I regret exceedingly to perceive
that you seem, in one of your late articles, to attribute to me an opinion
that no Catholic student could, under any circumstances, attend without sin
the lectures to be given in the newly established Queen's Colleges. If this
wJM really your meaning, I beg to assure you that I have never uttered
a word to indicate that such is my opinion. The mistake into which yoii
seem to have been unintentionally led, appears to have arisen from a sup-
j)osition of mine, perhaps a very unfounded one, that the Sacred Congrega-
tion of Propaganda was impressed with a notion of that kind, when the first
Rescript regarding the colleges was issued, and when it was not, of course,
accurately acquainted with the various checks against the inroads of irreligion
and immorality which were then in preparation. That such an idea should
have been then entertained would, perhaps, under those circumstances, be
hardly surprising ; but the supposition that it really was so is at least premii-
ture. For, on reviewing the two Rescripts of which there isouestion, I cannot
discover in either of them any declaration to that effect, ana it is neither my
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 65
daty nor wish to make any addition to them, llie Sacred Congref^tion —
always prudent, alwajrs dif^nified — gives no countenance, in those docu-
ments, to the absurdity of applving the epithet '* Godless" to institutions
which comprise ministers of religion appointed for the express purpose of
teaching the students to adore, and love, and serve God. It calmly expresses
its doubts as to how far the proposed checks against irreligion would be sus-
tained by the laws of these realms, which it professes not to understand ; it
indicates other grounds of fear, which lead it to apprehend that the new
colleges would not be sufficiently safe for the general education of Catholic
youth ; and it therefore enjoins the Catholic bishops to take no part in the
execution of the law in virtue of which they were to be established. I do
not find any other distinct prohibitions in those Rescripts. With this in-
junction I at once pledged myself to the Holy See that I would strictly con-
form. But I stop there. Being thus wholly unconnected with those insti-
tutions, it is not tor me to anticipate any futtire declarations regarding them
which may emanate from the wisdom of the same supreme authority — nur
to dictate, in the mean time, to others what conclusions, respecting individual
cases, they ought to draw from the two important documents which are now
before them. Having given this explanation, I must beg to decline entering
again, through the newspapers, on this subject. I have the honour to re-
main, dear Sir, your obedient servant,
Frederick Lucas, Esq. ^ D. Murray.
RoMB.— Our readers will regret to learn that we cannot hold out to th.»m
any prospect of the immediate return of His Holiness to his capital — The
distarbancea during the Carnival show that a spirit is still rife there which
would not ^ow him to return unprotected by foreign bayonets, to which the
Holy Fathei^a aversion ia well known. The question with France, also, is
rtin eompficated.
Paris. — On Friday the 8th the first of the gMieral conferences recently
instituted in the diocese of Paris, was held in the Church of the Madeieine.
More than 500 priests assisted at this imposing meeting.
CONVERSIONS.
The Right Honourable the Countess of Arundel and Surrey was received
into the Catholic Church, at the Oratory, King William-street, last week.
We have to record two conversions in Kilkenny to the Catholic Church —
those of Mr. Robert Wilkinson, and Margaret, his wife, of Walkin-sireet.
They had been under the spiritual instruction of Father Mulligan for the
past fortnight, and, on the Feast of the Purification, were admitted by him
into the Catholic Church, by the permission of the venerated Bishop of
Ossory, Dr. Walsh. Wilkinson diea on Monday morning — he had been ill
for some weeks past. He was lineal heir to the title of the late Sir Robert
Wilkinson. — Kilkenny Journal,
On Thursday, the 3l8t ult.. Miss Williams, late mistress of the St. Sa-
viour's National School, Leeds, and Miss Linsham, an inmate of "the
Home '^ attached to that Church, were solemnly received into the Catholic
Church at St. Ann's House, Clapham, by the Rev. R. G. Macmullen, for-
merly one of the curates of St. Saviour's parish.
A sun of Chancellor Walworth, of Newhaven, has recently been admitted
to Holy Orders at Rome, as a Catholic priest, and will be employed as a
home missionary in London.
A correspondent from Tarragona, of the 22nd of January, thus writes :-*
''To-day, in the chapel of the palace, was performed one of the most august
ceremonies of our Efoly Religion — the baptism of a Protestant lady, manied
Abroad to a merchant of this town. She has been baptised, has received
F
Digitized by
Google
66 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
communion, and has been married by his Lordship the Archbishop-elect of
Cuba, Mosent Claret, in the presence of his Lordship the Archbishop of this
see, who administered to her the sacrament of confirmation. — El HeraUo.
Mr. Robert Beverley Tillotson, lately a member of the Protestant Estab-
lishment in America, was received into the Church, by the Very fiLev. Father
Newman, at the Oratory, Birmingham, on Sunday the 13th January. Mr.
Tillotson, who is the son of a gentleman residing at Barry Town, New York,
had been (as we learn) some time dissatisfied with the pretensions and fruits
of Protestantism, and was perplexed in what Commanion to find deposited
the '* one Faith" of Christ. He consulted several authorities, but still his
doubts remained. He had heard of Father Newman^s name and reputation :
he procured his works, and read them through and through, and then it was
that he first began to catch the rays of truth and light Nothing would no«v
satisfy him, but to come over to see and consult that great writer himself.
When he reached London, he was informed that Mr. N. was in Birmingham,
to which place he next hastened. In the interview which then took plaee,
he was led to consider the four essential notes of the Church, and by these
to test the claims of the community to which he belonged. By God's grace,
he soon became fully convinced, that the Protestants, like all other bodies
contrasted with the Catholic Church, was ftitally lacking in these respects,
and he soon announced his wish of being received into our communion.
It is a singular coincidence in this conversion, that Mr. Tillotson, after having
journeyed from so distant a land, should have been led (by the star as it
were of Faith) to see the Child of Bethlehem for the first time on the Feast of
the Epiphany J and have offered the homage of his heart and body by being
made a Catholic on the octave. Mr. T. has since been confirmed, and is in-
tending (we believe) to spend a few weeks more in England, before he returns
to his native land, where, as we doubt not, he will continue in faith as he has
begun, and prove himself a futhful and devoted son of his newly found, bis
true and only Mother, the Church of Jesus and Mary.
MISCELLANEOUS.
Thb Aoapbmone. — ^According to the following account, which we extract
from the "Taunton Courier," it would seem that the conductors of this
establishment are still reaping their harvest through the weakne!>3 of their
deluded votaries : — "The sudden advance in this town, from theRowbarton
road on Thursday last, of an unusually dashing travelling equipage, attracted
much attention. A handsome carriage and four, with postillions, preceded
by a horseman and followed by two other servants on horseback in white
linen riding coats, accompanied by a couple of bloodhounds, arrested the
earnest attention of wayfarers. In the carriage were seated an elderly gen-
tleman, and a middle-aged female, and in the seat behind were a male and
female attendant. It soon transpired that this ostentatiously vulgar exhibi-
tion belonged to the meretricious Agapemone or Princite estabUshment at
Charlinch; the principal of which (Prince) had come to Taunton, to claim
C session of some papers belonging to a wealthy fiftrmer at Othery, who,
ing deserted his wife and children, had lately become an inmate of the
' Abode of Love !' The papers were properly refused, by the silly dupe*s
professional adviser. Surely some protection ought to be extended by the
law to families, to prevent their property from becoming the prey of heartless
fellows of this description."
The Asylum op thb Good Shepherd, Hammersmith.— -"I observe
that you do not allude to the admirable institution maintained by our Roman
Catholic brethren at Hammersmith, under the title of the ' Asylum of the
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 67
Good Shepherd.' This establishment was founded originally by two French
NuDB, members of an Order devoted to the reclamation of unfortunate
females. When first they came to England they were poor, imaided, and
almost destitute, but so greatly have they prospered, through the charity of
English and Irish Catholics, that th«y have now a convent and church, and
they maintain nearly one hundred penitent females, without distinction of
creed. In fact, a large number are Protestants. The Nuns themselves are,
of course. Catholics, and about thirty in number. I believe they are still
anxious to extend their accommodation for penitents to any extent for which
means may foe afiPorded them. To use vour own words, we have here, * not
the dry weekly committee, acting through the paid matron, but we find ladies
by birth and education willing to devote, not money only, but their whole
lives, and all the persuasion which love, piet^, and sympathy can command,
to save these outcasts of the world, these abject sisters of toe good and for-
tunate. This institution is well worthy of a visit, and much may be learned
from its admirable and affectionate arrangements." — Morning Chronicle
Correspondent,
Generals Cordova and Zabala have taken with them to Terracina
the medals and decorations intended for the Spanish soldiers. They are of
copper, about the size of a hal^enny, and bearing on one side the followinjg
inscription — *' Pius IX. Pont. Max. Romae restitut. Catholicis armis collatis
ann. 1849." On the other side is the tiara, with the keys, and the inscrip-
tion— " Sede Apostolica Romana.'* The medal is to be worn by a white
and yellow ribbon. — Milan Gazette,
Death ob Frere Leotade. — On the 26th ult. this unfortunate man
died at the galleys, at Toulon, of an attack on his chest. Our readers will
recollect the accusation laid agiunst him of the crime of violating and mur-
dering a poor girl. His judges found him guilty, and since that period he
had been wor^ng with other convicts on the hulks. He set them a great
example of resignation and holiness, constantly declaring his innocence,
bnt never breathing a word against his accusers. He received devoutly
the last sacraments, and before be expired he sent for the Commissionary of
the Republic, before whom and his director he said, and reiterated, with
extreme solemnity — '* On the point of appearing before God, I wished to
declare, for the last time before you, what I have already declared before my
judges, that I am innocent, and that I am completely ignorant how and by
whom was committed the dark crime for which I was condemned." — ''I go
before Him who recompenses trial and repairs injustice."
The magnificent Gothic Church at £rdinoton was opened for
divine worship on Tuesday the 29th ultimo, by the Right Rev. the Vicar
Apostolic of the Central District. High Mass being sung by the Rev.
Francis Amherst, of Oscott College, assisted by the Rev. James Bond, of
Si Chad's Cathedral, and the Rev. — Grosvenor, of Oscott, as deacon and
sab-deacon, his lordship the bishop delivered a suitable address, in his usual
ebquent and forcible style. After benediction of the most adorable sacra-
ment in the evening there was another admirable discourse, delivered by
the Rev. Thomas Flanagan, of Oscott College. This beautiful temple,
which is calculated to accommodate about 2,000 worshippers, wiU de-
servedly rank amongst the first in the country, and will be a lasting
monument of the zeal, piety, and munificence of the Rev. Daniel Hugh,
late an Anglican minister, at whose sole expense, we understand, it was
erected, at a cost of some £25,000 or £30,000. It will be completely
finished and ready for consecration in the month of May.
GoRHAM V. the Bishop of Exeter. — The Guardian states that the
judgment of the Committee of. Privy Council in this case will not be given
this week, but, if possible, on or before the 2nd of March.
Digitized by
Google
68 IdONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
BIRTHS.
On tbe 4th of February, at Berlin, the lady of Henry Francis Howard,
Esq., Secretary to Her Majesty's Legation, of a daughter.
On the 10th of February, at 26, LsSbroke-square, Notting-hill, the wife of
G. H. Ullathorns, Eso., of a son.
On the 16th of February, at St. Augustine's, Rugeley, the lady of John
BuTLBR BowDON, EsQ., of a son and heir.
On the 20th inst., at Danesfield, Bucks, the Hon. Mrs. Scott Murray,
of a daughter.
MARRIAGES.
On the 23rd of January, at St. Aloysius's Chapel, Somers-to vn, by the
Rev.. Wm. Baines, Mr. Bernard Dunn, of Southampton, to Matilda,
third daughter of the late Samuel Mitan, Esq., of the Polygon.
On the 28th of January, at the Bavarian Chapel, Warwick-street, by the
Rev. E. Heam, Mr. G. D'Anoelo, of Winchester, to Mary Ann, el4e8t
daughter of the late Mr. Charles Thorpe, of Buckland.
On the feast of the Espousals of our Blessed Lady, at St. George's Catho-
lic Church, Southwark, by the Rev. R. North, Stuart, only son of John
Knill, Esa , of Fresh Wharf, London, and of Walworth House, Surrey, to
Mary Ann Rosa, eldest daughter of the late Charles Rowland
Parker, Esa., of St. Germain's Place, Blackheath.
DEATHS.
Of your charity pray for the soul of Mrs. Elizabeth Gillis, who
died on Tuesday, the 29th January, 1850, aged 81 years.
"Blessed are the dead who die in the Lard, for their works follow them.**
Apoc. ziv. 13.
May she rest in peace.
Bishop Gillis requests the prayers of the Faithful for the repose oi
his mother's soul.
At Rome, on the 11th of January, at the advanced 9(ffi of 96, Don
LiBORio CoLuzzi, for more than twenty years confessor at the Engliah
College. R.I.P.
On the 26th of January, at his residence, 37. Dorset-squ^jre, aged 56,
Edward Clifton, Esq., fourth son of the late John Clifton, Esq., Lytton*-
hall, Lancashire.
At Brighton, on Monday the 28th of January, the Rev. John Lark an,
student of the English College at Rome, ai^d M.A., forjoierly in the
Mauritius. R.I.P.
On Sunday the 3rd February, in the 66th year of her ag9, Mary, th9
wife of Francis Story, Esq., of Barnard Castle.
On the 7th of February, in Duchess-street, Portland-place, H^nry
William, youngest son of Edward Slaughter, Esq., aged 15 months.
On the 12th of Februaiy, at the residence of her son-in-law,. George
Martin, Esq., Architect and Surveyor, 85, Baker-street, Mrs. Mary Mower,
aged 84 years.
On the 13th of February, at his residence, Midford Castle, Charles
Thomas Conolly, Esa., aged 59.
On the 2l8t of February, at St. Leonard's, Hastings, the Rev. John
Jones, many years Chaplain at the Bavarian Chapel, Warwick-street, in
his 73rd year.
Digitized by
Google
THE CATHOLIC
BEGISTEE AND MAGAZINE.
No. LXII. April, 1860. Vol. XI.
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
James Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak.
It chanced, in the war which our Indian Empire waged with
Birmah twenty-five years ago, that, by one of those accidents
which happen in the best regulated families and armies, our
troops were totally unsupported by cavalry. Harassed by the
swarms of the enemy's cavalry, if I may so designate the rough
ponies and their riders who hung upon us on all sides, we could
BO more pursue and protect ourselves against them than against
musquitoes and other diminutive torments of the region : we
could but wait until they pitched; when, with considerable
trouble and delay, we crushed them with the weight of our arms.
A young lad, who was attached to the commissariat depart-
ment, thought that the evil might be remedied.
^If you will allow me to pick out a hundred men who can
ride," he said to his superior officer, "I will mount them upon
the ponies we have taken from these fellows, and will show that
we can keep them at a distance, instead of waiting for their
attacks. The ponies, with our men upon them, will, at all
events, be a match for the same brutes mounted by natives.^'
Honour to the officer to whom he spoke ! He was a man of
talent; for he could discern genius, even in a boy. I know not
what is become of him : but the litde troop of little cavalry was
organized and did good service to the army under the brave
leadership of James Brooke.
In the spring of 1828 — I cannot record the very day, but it
was certainly in Lent: the height of the season in Bath is
always in Lent : I remember that, during this particiilax fast, I
VOL. XI. Q
Digitized by
Google
70 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
was seated at five eonseoative suppers before as many boiled
tongues bedecked with spun pastry or flowers cut out of turnips
or carrots which it fell to my lot to carve for the hungry
dancers around me — and I trust that the penance my abstinence
inflicted upon me, may atone for my attendance at scenes of
gaiety during a season which should be otherwise spent — it was,
Sien, in the spring of 1828, that the orchestra played cheerily
the spirit and body-stirring waltz from Weber's Freishutz or the
scarcely less pleasing bridal chorus transformed into a quadrille,
neither of which are known to modem musicians, who can give
us nothing but potage a la Jullien. Happy partners, hoping
soon to be ^^ happy couples,*' spun round the room with modu-
lated and elegant movement — ^people danced modestly in those
days, when galoppes, polkas and walzs a deux tems were not
— or walked through a quadrille vrith measured glissades : girls
who had not been engaged, sat moodily on the benches around
the room, and endeavoured, by forced smiles, to make people
think how happy they were to be wall-flowers and tapisserie:
lights burned brightly; and pleasant was the scene. I was
talking with a fair girl — she was so fair that she could afford to
sit out one dance in quiet converse vrith a man of my age. We
spoke merrily of those about us — scientifically and critically ;
and had just passed in review a group of our more particular
friends who were standing together on one side of the room,
when the figure of the dance caused them to break ground, and
enabled us to see beyond.
Upon a sofa — I remember the picture well — ^it was a blue
satin sofa — ^a cluster of bright lights sprang from the wall above
it — upon such a sofa, half reclined a young man of elegant and
yery distinguished appearance. Without foppery, he was dressed
wifli scrupulous taste. His pale face was turned rather up-
wards, and wore an expression of pleased and benevolent
ihoughtfulness. On his mouth, which was rather large but
handsome, this expression assumed a somewhat sarcastic tinge
of contempt for the scene before him.
"Who is that good-looking man!" exclaimed my young
friend : " reclining on that blue sofei, he looks like a moonbeam
upon an azure sky. I never noticed his pale face before ! Who
IB he ?" she reiterated eagerly.
^* He is an Indian officer just come home from the wars," I
replied. " His name is James Brooke.''
" What ! son of die fine old lady and gentleman who drive
about in the great green coach ?'' she asked.
" Exactly so," I answered : " and brother of her whom all
flie women in Bath are jealous of, the beautifril Mrs. Anthony
Savage.**
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 71
^^ Then he must be worth looking after,*' she said thoughtfully.
^ I wonder all the chaperons leave him so to himself — not only
like a moonbeam, but like the veiy moon herself —
• that had been led astray
Through the heaven's wide pathless way.' "
^' Oh yes, he is a good catch,^ I replied ; ^* and if you are
inclined to look after him, you may calculate upon his inheriting
a fine fortune from his father. But to tell you the truth, I do
not think he is a marrying man. We were talking with him
about marriage a few days ago — our great match-maker, Mrs.
E 8, was of the party — ^when he declared that the only
person he had ever felt inclined to fall in love with, was ugly
old Madame Pesaroni, when he first heard her sing on the stage,
so much was he moved by her beautiful voice. Mrs. E s
turned away in disgust, and does not, therefore, think him worth
plaguing since.^
^' But what makes him so pale ?'' asked my companion.
" He has been badly wounded in India," I replied. " He is
said to have killed seven Birmese with his own hand at the
head of his troop of cavalry."
*^ Dear creature !" she exclaimed : ^^ the loss of blood makes
him look so interesting — ^so pale ! Does he write poetry ?"
^^ Yes, he does : and that of the sterling sort — ^but he does not
tnite for the public nor for ladies* albums."
^^ How sorry I am ! I should have so liked to have some
lines written in my album by a wounded warrior, and signed
' Moonbeam.' Nay, don't frown !" she said. " I sfaali give
him that name. We give names to eveiy one that is worth
thinking of: — you know there is ' Look-and-Die,' and * Him-of-^
ihe-Gloak,' and ^B^meo,' and you know your own name, I
suppose."
And so this merry child rattled on : and, owing to her idle
prattle, he who was to be the founder of civilization in mighty
regions, came to be designated by the name of ^^ Moonbeam "
by young ladies piqued at the little notice he took of them.
My friend returned, for a while, to India. His father died*
He succeeded to a handsome fortune ; but the world knew
nothing of his proceedings until a paragraph in the public papers
casually mentioned that Mr. Brooke, in the Boyalist yacht, was
lying off the Cape of Good Hope, insisting upion the rights of
the Royal Yacht Club with those who thought that a yacht had
no right to be in blue water.
But, even then, he was bent upon an errand that few were
Acquainted with ; and whieh those few deemed irrational. Early
imbued vdth a romantic wish to investigate the islands in tfas
G 2
Digitized by
Google
72 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
yast China seas, he was wending his way thither with all the
hope, the energy and the enthusiasm of a Columbus. It is
nnnecessaiy to record his progress. It is known to the world.
Kindly welcomed by a native prince in Borneo, he could not
see his half-dTilized benefeu^tor unjustly attacked by a barbarous
enemy. The crew of the Royalist took part with what mature
and conscientious reflection assured their leader was the just
cause ; and enabled it to triumph. James Brooke was, in grate-
ful acknowledgment, transformed into Rajah or supreme prince
and governor of the immense district of Sarawak.
For some years, he expended his private fortune and all the
energies of Ins mind and body in civilizing the natives sub-
jected to his rule ; in extirpating piracy, the curse of those seas ;
in promoting order, commerce and humanity. Two years ago,
he paid a short visit to England and was received, by sovereign
and people, with the respect due to a really great man. Honour
and rank was bestowed upon him ; and, as the Consul-Gteneral
of England at Labuan, he returned to his own principality of
Sarawak, the recognised representative of his sovereign in those
hitherto-unknown regions.
Amongst other valued testimonials of a valued friendship, I
received a letter from Sir James Brooke, written on his outward
passage, which is so characteristic of the man that I shall ven-
ture to print it here. It has been said that public men are public
property : the proverb does not apply in this instance : but
when parties come forward and endeavour by misrepresentation
to overwhelm one whom I believe to be doing incalculable
good to mankind, the delicacy of private friendship must not
withhold me from publishing what may tend to show the real
character of him who is assailed. Thus runs the letter which,
without a date but bearing the post-mark ^^ Brazil,*^ reached
England in the middle of May, 1848 : —
^' H. M. S. Mssander, at Sea.
^ My dear ,
** I nad neither heart nor health to answer your kind letter
before I left England ; and I believe, had I remained in the
dear old foggy country for six months more, I should have died
of turtle soup and City feasts. Your classing me vdth Abd-el-
Kader made me smile ; but I feel proud of the comparison ;
and am very proud of being a hero at all. I do not feel like a
hero, though, whatever you may please to think; for I eat,
drink and deep, and go through the process of life just like the
commonest clumney-sweep of them all. I do hope, however,
to do good in my generation ; and the rest I look upon as
leather and prunello. This is my happiness — ^this giyes the
necessary excitement to the imagination without which life is
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 73
not wordi haTingy and from the want of which I soflfered so
many dreary days in the olden times in Bath.
^' I doubt very mnoh, if our respective lots were fairly
balanced, whether yours would not be freighted with more
happiness. Domestic happiness would weigh down a score of
petty empires amongst savage people ; and very few there are
fortunate enough to combine this blessing with an active and
ambitious career. I shall be delighted to see and entertain
yon in Borneo ; but then what will my Lady say ? Whenever
your sons come, they shall receive the best welcome I can give
them ; and of course all creeds shall work their own way,
without giving me a thought or a trouble. It would be strange
indeed if I, who live and have long lived, tolerating and
tolerated by Mahomedans and Pagans, should suddenly take
it into my head to exclude or thwart Christians in their voca-
tion, merely because there is some shadow of a difference in
our opinions. The longer I live, the more I regret the want
of tolerance in this lower world. Folks do not, it is true, bum
or hang ; but there exists a menial intolerance, of which the
other used to be but the outward and visible sign. I ought to
be tolerant; because, having lived much in solitude and un-
fettered by the world's ways, I have arrived at conclusions
which differ from the received opinions ; and I doubt not if
I entertained zeal enough to propose my own views, I should
share the fate of poor Punchinello, and be told ' Va, in
prigione.' I really think no more about another man's re-
ligious opinions than I do about the shape of his nose ; and
I find great encouragement in this comfortable indifference,
because I meet with excellent men of all religions.
** Here is a screed of doctrine ! the long and short of which
is that, as far as I am concerned, all people may convert all
other people, so long as they don't kick up a row.
*' H. M. S. Meander is now running aown the S. E. trade ;
and we are not only completely thawed, but likely to melt. I
do not know where we are ; but this letter, Grod vdlling, will be
sent from Rio Janeiro, where we stay for a day or two. Our
voyage, thus far, has been prosperous and dull — as dull, indeed,
as voyages usually are : but I enjoy the monotony ; and have
neither done anything or wished to do anything since I left
England ; and I have thought as little as I possibly could — ^an
entire abandonment and repose. You may judge then how
great has been the exertion of this letter, and excuse the non-
sense it contains.
"Pray offer my best wishes to Mrs. — -; and with every
wish for your health and happiness, believe me, my dear ^
"Very sincerely yours, J. Brooke."
Digitized by
Google
74 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
Ob, that all legislators understood the spirit that animates
the Rajah of Sarawak ! Oh that, on the statute book
of every nation in the world, were inscribed his expressiTC
words — so far as the state is concerned, "all people may
CONVERT ALL OTHER PEOPLE, SO LONG AS THEY DON't KICK UP
A ROW
|w
"Laissez nous fedre," said the merchant to Colbert, when
asked in what manner tibe Government could benefit commerce :
"only leave us alone," says the Catholic, perplexed by the
terms on which the suspicious aid of Government is offered for
our support and the education of our children.
The history of Sir James Brooke may be fairly left to be
interwoven with that of his age and of the Indian and Southern
Seas. So long as health will allow him — and I regret that the
last accounts represent him as suffering severely — ^he will
calmly pursue his great career of civilizing nations, and, as he
expresses it, of " doing good in his generation.'' Small men
may rave against his cruelty in destroying the murderous
pirates who infest his dominions; but those who take the
trouble of reading the record of their proceedings and see
them vote the same declaration, that no pirates ever existed
in those seas, notwithstanding the unexpected contradiction
of the merchant captain who had escaped from their hands,
and who called himself ^^an ocular demonstration" of the fact,
those who watch these proceedings, will give them credit for a
vast deal of cant and for, perhaps, no small amount of envy.
Well might they cry oiat that the ^^ ocular demonstration" was
ruining their meeting ! When, in the novel of Peveril of the
Peak, the judge was induced to require honest evidence, Titus
Oates rushed out of the court, exclaiming, till he was hoarse,
^^ Theay are stoifling the Plaat ! — theay are straangling the
Plaat!"
The Duchesse de Berri.
How well I remember my friend the pretty little Comtesse de
Bouille : — her little* trim figure ; her little round, brown face —
always rather wrinkled firom youth — her bright brown eyes ; and
her wiry black hair! Her appearance was very pleasing, if not
very pretty : and her face was ever lighted up vnth such a quiet
look of good temper, sense, and serenity, that it was delightfiil
to look upon her — still more so to sit and chat with her. It
was amusing too to see her husband kiss her in company. But
he valued his wife ; and as he put his great shaggy moustaches
and military face against her sweet little countenance, he wished
to show what a happy couple they were ; and the little woman
was so proud of having a good husband, that she submitted,
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 75
with good grace, to wbat she disliked, as being contrary to the
usages of society. French women make the best wives in the
world when — alas that I should be obliged to say when — their
husbands are worthy of them.
M"^ de Bouill^ was the daughter of a leader of the royalist
forces in the war of La Vendee ; and she herself had encoun-
tered many of the dangers of those wonderful campaigns. When
a very in&nt, she had been hid in a hollow tree, while her
father and his chauans fled from the republican troops: and
many hours had elapsed before they had been able to return
and rescue the fainting child from her hiding-place.
On the 11th of April, 1831, being then in Bath, I received an
inyitation for that evening to wait on the Marquise de Bosni —
the name under which the Duchesse de Berri was then travel-
ling, and had lately arrived in the city. The name of the
Duchesse de Berri had long represented in my mind all that
remained of romantic and high spirited in the elder branch of
the royal Bourbon fiEunily. For however much their misfortunes
might be pitied, or their mistakes and good intentions deplored
by those who know what place good intentions are said to pave,
it was impossible to feel any chivalrous interest in any other
one who had occupied or stood in near relation to the throne
since the restoration. Upwards of thirty years ago, I had seen
Louis the Eighteenth reclining in his open chariot — a bland
smile of satisfaction at his unexpected restoration mantling his
broad features, as he was whirled through the Rue de Bivoli,
followed and preceded by his noble guards : I had seen the
enthusiasm of one party for the Emperor battling for years with
the disappointed hopes of the royalists and emigres, until all
were fedling into the routine of the restoration : I had seen this
incipient apathy startled into murderous triumph and noble in-
dignation by the assassination of the Due de Berri for no other
reason, as stated by the murderer himself, than that the duke
was the root of the family — the only one by whom it could
hope to be perpetuated, he having already a daughter : I had
heard the superstitious, mysterious whisperings tiiat told how
the peasant, Martin, had been wonderfully conducted by the
archangel Raphael from the South of France to hold inter-
course with the Eang and to assure him that a Bourbon
should never be wanting to the throne : I had marked the
anxious suspense with which all parties, after the death of
the Duke de Berri, heard the pregnancy of his widow pro-
claimed, and waited the result with triumph or with affected
contempt ; while the heroic mother declared that it was " im^-
possible " that she should give birth to a girl : I had listened
to the cannon which^ at last, proclaimed the event to France,
Digitized by
Google
76 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
and had counted, with curious anxiety, the discharges up to
one hundred that were to announce the birth of a girl ; I had
waited in breathless suspense during the lengthened pause that
ensued ere one other thundering salute told that a male heir
was bom to the throne : I had marked how, year after year, my
neighbour the Duke of Orleans collected tibe country around
him, produced his children, like a Roman mother, and insi-
diously told how he was educating them for France: I had
watched the growing unpopularity of the King's latter years ;
the joy with which men heard that his poor, unwieldy body was
dropping to pieces ; and the enthusiasm that greeted Charles
the Tenth on his succession to the crown. Then had followed
impolitic measures and a reactionary feeling ; and then coercive
laws were proposed against the press : so that when, on the
16th April, 1827, with Mrs. Oandolfy, and her beautiful
daughter — (they have both long been professed nuns: before
and when she took the veil, that daughter was one of the
brightest, happiest, most light-hearted, and beautiful girls I ever
saw,) — when, with these dear friends, I witnessed from the ecole
militaire, the King reviewing ten thousand men in the Champ
de Mars, ungreeted by cheer or welcome as he passed before
the different regiments ; and when, on the evening of that day,
in answer to the request of the police that the town should be
illuminated in honour of the restoration, I observed that the
public and government buildings alone showed any lights ; but
that, two days afterwards, when, terrified by these significant
hints, the obnoxious law against the press was wididrawn,
every private house was spontaneously illuminated, bonfires and
crackers disturbed every street, and the public and government
buildings alone remained dark — when I noticed all this, it was
easy to see that a change was impending.
It came, as all the world knows. The royal family were
meek fugitives. The Duchess of Berri alone struggled to keep
alive the spirit of the party ; and, under various disguises and
incredible difficulties, had remained long in France, labouring
for the cause of her son. It had been to no avail : and as the
Marquise de Bosni, she was now living quietly in Johnstone-
street in Bath.
When I entered the passage of the house on the evening I
have before recorded, I heard what seemed to me the voice of
a man in loud talk in the drawing-room above. I marvelled
that so little respect should be shown in such a presence ; for
the voice grew louder as I ascended the stairs. Fifteen or
twenty people were in the room. My friend Madame de
Bouill^ came forward, and presented me to the person whose
voice I had heard and who was still speaking: — it was the
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 77
Duchesse de Bern herself. On a sofa at the side, of the fire-
place, her feet resting upon a rather high stool, her Royal High-
ness sat. Tall, well shaped and with rather fine and marked
Italian features, she looked older than her real age, which was
only thirty-three. But if her Toice had astonished me on enter-
ing the house, her attitude was still more surprising. Seated,
as I have said, with her feet on a low stool, she grasped each
shoulder with the hand of the opposite arm ; and so rocked
herself from side to side as she spoke. The posture was not
elegant — courtier, as I became for the time, I was obliged to
admit that the posture was not elegant. However, to make
amends, her Royal Highness was very agreeable and chatted
with us familiarly and cleverly. Two or three old friends of
mine, besides the Count and Countess de Bouill^, hereditary
royalists, were in her suite : the other persons in the room were
of French families living in Bath, or English who had been
introduced at the court of France and claimed the honour of
the entre here. Thus the fine old dowager Marquise de Som-
mery was there, — elegant, refined and quietly spirituelle as ever,
a type of the old French school : and old Mrs. Lutwyche, who
represented English loyalty to a fallen house. I will not par-
ticularise any others : and I know not in which class I was
myself regarded. No refreshments of any sort were given ; but
an hour or two sped very pleasantly away. I was informed
that the Duchesse would be " at home *' in the same manner on
the evening of every Monday and invited to attend : and then
she rose from her seat and quietly and gracefully bowed us all
out of the room at nine o'clock.
Her Royal Highness went to see Prior Park. The college
was bedecked vrith flowers to greet her coming. On the floor
of the great hall, a crown of blossoms was interwoven ; and,
underneath, the letters Henri V. It was a natural compliment
to pay to a mother and a fallen princess ; but it gave offence
to some, who complained that Catholics should seem to
identify themselves with what was considered a retrogressive
cause — ^the cause of despotism opposed to the spirit of die age.
M. de Montalembert had not then arisen to proclaim the inde-
pendence of religion from state policy ; its acceptance of every
form of government accepted by the country ; its resolve to
work out, by legitimate means, however varying, its own high
mission, and upraise the banner of the cross fieur above tbe
turmoils of &ction and the revolutions of empires.
'* La triomfante croce in ciel si spande."
Digitized by
Google
78 hecollections of eminent men.
The Blind Traveller.
At the Hotel des Baines at Boulogne, some three years ago,
we heard that- an extraordinaiy personage had dined that daj
at the table d'hdtes : — an Englishman, quite blind, and wearing
ayenerable white beard that reached down upon his breast.
This could be no other than Mr. Holman, the celebrated blind
traveller, who had wandered over Europe and the world, and
had published — not descriptions of what he had seen, but
descriptions of the places he had visited. A message was
sent to him, requesting that he would do some English ladies
the favour of taking tea with them ; and, at the appointed hour,
he entered the apartment He was in truth a venerable looking
man, and his appearance had been accurately described.
*^ Mr. Holman," said a lady of the party, ^^ it is a long time
since we met, and our last meeting was a great way oif. Do
you remember Bangalore ?''
''B«member Bangalore in India, and the reception I met
with from the Thirteenth Light Dragoons,'' exclaimed the old
man, while his face lighted up vnth animation. ^^ How can I
ever forget it, and their kind-hearted gallant commander ? "
And vivid and fresh every circumstance rose up in bis
memory, as if it had occurred but yesterday ; and he chatted,
delighted with all that he remembered. He told her he had
wandered back to Europe safe and without accident, never
taking a guide except in one instance, when crossing the desert
from Alexandria to Jerusalem. Here, with a boy to guide
him, he had refused to join a caravan, and had followed alone
more slowly. His usual good luck had attended him. The
caravan had been pillaged by some desert robbers; and the
travellers, stripped of every thing, had wandered naked to the
nearest caravansera. But no : they had not all wandered away ;
they had not all been stripped of every thing ; for, when Ae
blind traveller reached the spot where the encounter had
taken place, one man still lay upon the burning sands in a pair
of spectacles. It was literally true : the only article of apparel
left upon him was a pair of steel spectacles. The poor fellow
had been unwell at the time of the attack, had been knocked
down in the scramble, and, forgotten by the other travellers,
had lain there unable to move, and was now quite exhausted.
** Hallo, friend: we are come to help you I" the blind traveller
had exclaimed when the situation of the other was explained
to him by his guide.
'^ Ugh ! Ugh !" grunted the man with the spectacles.
^* Try and get up and come with us," persisted Mr. Holman.
*'Ugh! Ugh!" repeated the man dressed in the spectacles.
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT HEN. 79
<< The poor devil must be mad ! ^ exclaimed the blind traveller.
"What country do you belong to ?'* he inquired.
^Ugh ! Ugh ! "^ groaned the man dressed in the spectacles.
''Must be a Frank by his dress!'' insidiously* observed the
guide, grinning from ear to ear.
While this discussion was going on and the blind traveller
was attempting to raise his foundling, another party of travellers
oame along the sandy track. Seeing the state of the case,
which Mr. Holman had only gathered from the report of the
guide, they perceived at once that the poor naked traveller was
exhausted from want of food, and that, as spectacles were his
only garment, "Ugh! Ugh!" were the only sounds he had
strength to utter. They pitched their tent ; carried him inside
it ; and had sufficient medical knowledge not to give food to
bis voracious appetite. They knew, as Byron says,
" That famished people must be slowly nurst,
And fed by spoonfuls, else they always burst,'*
and they dosed him plentifully with water. At length, his
consciousness returned ; he sucked his parched lips ; he opened
bis large eyes ; he gazed wildly about him. Then he raised
his two hands to his forehead, and, feeling what was there, he
exclaimed,
"Thank God, they have left me my spectacles !**
"And now," said Mr. Holman to us, "I wish you would do
me a great favour and write up my journal for me.*'
He took from his pockets various pieces of paper, each of
which was folded in a peculiar manner, and laid them in order
before him. Then taking up each one at a time, he told all that
it referred to with clearness and precision : and I entered all that
he recited in his journal book.
"But," he said when he had given his description of the
town, ^^ you must have the goodness to write down what has
amused everybody so much to-day, in the two English travellers.**
" What, did you hear of that, too !" we exclaimed in surprise.
" I hear of everything,** he answered. " No one ever de-
ceives me or imposes upon me ; which proves how much good-
ness there is in the world. I make them take me to particular
places and tell me all they can see ; and then I describe it :
and I find that they have never told me untruly. But now,** he
continued, " about Mr. and Mrs. Goldsmith : they are said to
he very rich in London ; but they travel without a servant lest
he should league with the foreigners and cheat them. I suppose
you saw the old gentleman this morning helping to carry out
his boxes and strap them on his travelling chariot ? the people
Digitized by
Google
80 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
about die place were all offended and hissed him, as he and
his wife drove off."
*^ I know : I heard it all/' I interposed.
'^Yes: and I heard of his return/' continued the blind
traveller ; '^I could not see it : but I was told that the postilions
mistook his directions on purpose, and drove him to Calais
instead of Amiens : so that when the mistake was discovered
he had to return here again for the night, amid the jeers and
laughter of the street rabble ! 1 should like to have seen it ! "
And the old man laughed heartily ; and chatted till bed time:
when he left us with die hope that we might soon meet again.
He was then, I believe, a pensioner as one of the Naval Knights
of Windsor ; but I have not seen him since.
("To be continued. J
INSCRIPTIONS ON CHURCH BELLS.
A correspondent supplied to the ^'Register" of December last a
short but interesting paper on Bells. Two other inscriptions
than those which he recites have occurred to us. We believe
that the following is borne by a bell in Richmond, Yorkshire : —
Funera plango, fiilgora frango, sabbata pango,
Excito lentos, dissipo ventos, paco cnientos.
Deaths I weep, from lightning keep, the Sundays tell,
The tepid warm, disperse the storm, red wars cuspel.
The following is more elegant in its original, and, also, in the
translation : —
Me resonare jubent pietas, mors atque voluptas.
When mirth and joy are on the wing,
I ring.
To call the folks to church in time,
I chime.
When Qod requires of man his soul,
Jin. C. R. Sc Ji.
Digitized by
Google
81
ISOLATION.
1
They tell me thou art dead. I know
Myself 1 clos'd thine eyes :
But yet it seems a dream e^en now
I cannot realize.
2
'Tis true I kissM thy cold, cold cheek,
And laid thee in thy tomb ;
And every hour and every week
Brings dark and darker gloom :
3
*Tis true that, faint and sick at heart,
From place to place I rove.
And ever feel thou nowhere art
And I have none to love :
4
But still thine image hovers near ;
Thought ever dwells on thee ;
And everything I see and hear
Unites thee still to me.
5
I gaze on landscapes lov'd of yore,
On fairest scenery.
And think ^^Tve seen this place before.
Have look'd on it with mee :^
6
I feel the wind sigh balmily
This bright midsummer weather
And think "Tve felt it thus with thee : —
Last year, we felt together.^'
7
I hear some tale of quiet bliss.
Of hope or misery.
And think "I'll run and tell her this,''....
Tell A^....Ah, woe is me !
8
My lips begin the wonted prayer
We both so ofl;en said
For health and....Dreaiaer ! think**beware..
Pray only for the dead.
Digitized by
Google
ISOLATION.
9
But no, not so. With thee, I pray.
At night, I would not miss
To say the prayer we used to say.
I even turn and kiss
10
The long aceustomM kiss of years,
And bless thee ere I sleep.
How sweet the fftncy ! sweet the tears
For thee, I love to weep !
11
I wake at night. — ^Tliou art not there.
I shudder : — ^hide my head ;
And grasp the cross, and sigh a prayer.
And wish I, too, were dead.
12
I grasp the cross about my neck —
Sole comfort now and stay ; —
Sole anchor without which tibe wreck
Unsteer'd would drift; away.
13
I grasp it, — ^nervously, I own :
I lash me to the cross
As to a spar some drowning one
Whom surging billows toss.
14
Again I sleep. I wake again.
Thou art not there : — but there
My clenching fingers still retain
Their hold : my lips the prayer
15
Are forming yet. The lamp bums low.
I force myself once more
To sleep— K)r 'tis an effort now : —
I who ne'er wak'd before !
16
I force myself to sleep. I may
Not trust myself awake.
I scarcely dare to look if day
At length begin to break.
Digitized by
Google
ISOLATION. 88
17
For oh ! if thought should once begins
'Twould wander on and on —
And feeling, too, would drag me in
Its gulf of depth unknown.
18
And yet, I may not dream of ihee
Nor see thee, e'en in sleep.
I pray to dream : — it may not be : —
I can but think and weep.
19
Oh why is this ? Dear Lord, bestow
One glimpse of her to me
To tell me she is happy now ;
111 give her then to Thee.
20
I will resign her then to Thee,
And go my way ; and strive
To do tibe work appointed me.
And live, if I must live.
21
For Mary ! it is sad, indeed
'Tis sad to be alone.
Without one heart our thoughts to heed,
Our feelings none to own !
22
Those feelings were so shar'd by ihee,
Fall half of them were thine :
And well I know my sympathy
Made all thy feelings mine.
23
Alaok I alack ! and Woe is me !
I know not what I feel.
All feelings contradictoiy
Thought heart and reason reel.
24
Some tell me thou dost sympathise
With every pang I feel, —
Dost cling to me from heaven-bright skies.
While I can only kneel ; —
Digitized by
Google
84 ISOLATION.
25
Can only kneel and praj for thee
And wish my time were come,
While thy fond spirit waits on me
From heayen^s eternal home.
26
I do belieye thou canst and dost :
Thou still art near to me :
It must be thou art near me : must
Be more than memory.
27
It must be thy bright essence fills
The space wherein I move ;
And, in mine every tfiought, instils
The sympathy of love.
28
Oh let me think so. Then no more
ril deem myself alone.
We'll live together as of yore :
Our spirits shall be one.
29
ril bring thy spirit from the sky
To dwell beside me here :
And thou — lift up my thoughts on high
With thee to banquet there.
30
To banquet there before my time —
Oh blessed thought ! to share
Thy heavenly home ; and, all sublime,
To live on high by prayer: —
31
To make this world a part of heaven :
To welcome toil and gloom :
While every thought and hope is given
To Ood and thee and home : —
32
Thy home and mine : in Ood to meet
E'en now, as face to face ;
Till life itself grow almost sweet.
Dear Lord ! give Thou the grace !
Yorkf 2l8t June, 1849. FuiMUS.
Digitized by
Google
85
THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE.
(Continued from paffe 38 J
CHAP. III.
We have said Miss Byron, or as she must henceforth be
termed, Lady Granby, left town for Bath, accompanied by her
future husband.
In addition to the company of Sir John, there was a dame
de compagnie in the person of a Miss Randall, a particular
friend and distant relative of Lady William Frippingham, whom
that lady had prevailed upon to accompany the ^' happy pair.^'
Sir John's servant, Smithers, and a new maid, yclept Walters,
(selected also by Lady William for the occasion), were the
atfiendants upon ^e party.
Miss Randall had some strange notions concerning ^^ Papists,'^
but she had no hesitation, at the desire of her patroness, in
accompanying the rich heiress, and in concealing her opinions,
pouring mem forth however in a long letter to her friend and
ally, " the Reverend Jubez Muttleton, of the Swan Alley
Independent Chapel, London.'*
A couple of days were passed at Bath, and the newly married
pair left for Cheltenham, Lady Granby imagining herself the
"happiest of the happy," — Sir John playing the fond husband
with all the tact that gentleman was capable of. A day at
Cheltenham, and again they moved onward to a quieter place,
there to remain a short time, and receive a few visits from
persons whom lady William had duly apprized of the route of
the "loving pair," and of her desire that they should be •noticed.
The marriage, the gaiety of Bath, Sir John's love, and the
beauty of Cheltenham, had entirely driven from Lady Granby's
head all thought of London and of Derrington.
Lady Granby's greatest foible was her love of adulation.
She was a creature of strong impulse : never having known a
mother's care ; brought up almost entirely among men ; her
every wish a law to a numerous retinue, she had yet to learn
that what she wished might in itself be wrong. When she first
resided in London, in addition to Lady Honora EUerton, she
had one to confide in, and to receive coinfort from, in the person
of the Reverend Herbert Clary ; but when she had become
more' intimate with the Lady William Frippingham, more
enamoured of Sir John, and more careless to Cyril Derrington,
the Reverend Mr. Clary was seldom or never "troubled by
ber, and she pursued her ovm course unadvised and unsupported.
H
Digitized by
Google
86 THE HOUB AND THE MOTIVE.
Lady Granby^s argument was always this : '^I am not doing
wrong — not committing sin, / know that, and am heedless as to
opinions." This was a great error, and when she found she no
longer cared for Cyril, her wayward spirit immediately panted
for release herself; and her strong feelings urged her in the way
set forth, to attempt it ; and as she knew not what true love
was, so did she flatter herself that Derrington would soon forget
her. She knew him not !
When in a quiet abode, a pretty villa in the Roman style
overhanging the river Severn, the generous feelings of a warm
and liberal disposition burst forth ; and in a day or two, it was
widely known, that a Lady Bountiful had made her appearance
amongst the poor, and was performing the work of charity with
liberal hand and kind words.
The first three days Sir John Granby accompanied his ladj
in her charitable searches ; the fourth day he pleaded fatigue ;
entreated her to go alone with Miss Randall; and on her
departure took a smart gallop of a dozen miles.
After that, he always ^^ liked best" to hear her detail her
mornings' visits — " So, angelic Harriet, visit these good people
you shidl henceforth by yourself, and tell me all you meet with,
at our happy dinner."
Lady Granby believed him, antj complied with his request.
The London papers, although making allusions to the sensa-
tion their departure had occasioned, had never once hinted at
the road they took, and by Lady William's letters, both to Sir
John and his lady, it was almost certain that no one guessed
their route. Sir John was rather glad of this than otherwise ;
it saved him from receiving letters from his numerous creditors,
and prevented visits from folks in the neighbourhood whom be
cared nqt to renew acquaintance with. Certain people, friends
of Lady William, had, as desired by her ladyship, called ; but
neither Captain and Mrs. Popplewell, Dr. Glubb and the
Misses Glubb, nor Hawksly Smith and Lady, were people for
whom either Sir John or Lady Granby cared, for the gentle-
men would be professional and the ladies patronizing. Mrs.
Popplewell managed to scrape an intimacy with Lady Granby,
her knowledge of every body's circumstances being of use to
the newly married lady; but it was merely, on the part of Lady
Granby, a usefril acquaintance.
One morning, the third week of their marriage, after an im-
mense quantity of hyperbole had fallen from the Baronet's lipS)
and while Lady Granby was engaged, and Sir John smoking a
cigar in the Roman portico attached to the residence, a gentle-
man in faded although &shionably made garments, rode up
to the house. The horse had been hired from a neighbouring
Digitized by
Google
THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE. 87
town and was like most country hired horses, and the rider,
in his tight trowsers, blue frock coat, and slightly napless hat,
bj no means made up for the quadruped's requirements.
The new comer had perceived Sir John regaling himself, and
quietlj dismounting and fastening his beast to an iron railing,
he waJked up to the Baronet.
^^Gad, what pleasiure! Benedict at home. Ah! how are
you ? Gad, you're looking famously.''
" Cliflr-the devil ! " ejaculated Sir John.
" Gad, it's good, but wrong — ^but wrong. It's Clift the clever,
not Clift the devil," responded Mr. Clift.
Sir John shook his proffered hand somewhat sulkily, and
said, " How did you find me out ? "
"How did I?'* said Mr. Clift. "What a question, gad, what
a question. How do we of the press find out things, eh. Sir
John ? Where do we get our exclimve information, eh ? The
showers of gooseberries, and toads with legs like kittens —
v)ho finds them out, eh ?"
Mr. Clift's connection with the press was not of vast im-
portance to the world at large, his business being the secret
and confidential information department. In his paper was
always to be seen startling official paragraphs, that "Lady
Joanna Smith's eldest daughter had been seized with the
hooping cough;" or, that "the cake supplied on the happy
occasion was one of Gunter's best;" or, "the splendid rej»ast
Kas provided by Messrs. Fisher and Jones." These announce-
ments were of Mr. Clift's providing. Sometimes they assumed
a more important shape, and proclaimed the retreat of some
fashionable star to a foreign watering place. But, such as they
were, they afforded Mr. Clift the means of existence (or, at
least, were a help to his other means) and enabled ^im to
declare himself one of the fourth estate.
"What have you come for?" growled Sir John, without
inviting the new arrival into his house, or even asking him to
be seated on the stone seats in the portico.
" Come for, gad ! To see you."
"Is that aU?"
"To wish you joy, gad, yes, to wish you joy."
"For nothing else ?" questioned Sir John uneasily.
" Smart clever man, gad, smart and clever. Well, yes, there
is something else — a litde overdue acceptance of yours, a small
affair. Three hundred and fifty — gad, yes, small."
" This is pressing me, Clift," said the Baronet.
" It's what ? you're not pressing me to — stop, gad,not to stop — "
" Why your arrival is so unexpected — and we shall be soon
in London — andj and, you don't know Lady Granby."
H 2
Digitized by
Google
88 THE HOUB AND THE MOTIVE.
" Not yet, but, gad, I shall by dinner-time — ^yes, gad, yes,
I shall then.''
There was no putting off Mr. Clift — that Sir John Granby
saw : he was vexed, very vexed, for Clift was in too many of
his secrets, knew something of his liabilities, and something
also of his general character ; but there was no help for it.
^' Gad, I have a carpet bag with me, clean et cetera, and
accompaniments. Fd have brought a trunk, had I thought you
would have been, so pressing — yes, gad, a trunk."
This cool speech overthrew Granby's gravity entirely, and he
fairly laughed outright.
" Come, that's pleasant," said Clift.
" Well, Clift, T can't say I am glad to see you, just now at
least ; but as you're here, com^ in — and welcome."
'^ Sir John, what compound of stupidity and infidelity has
got in your composition ? Gad, yes, composition. Do you
diink I came all this way to worry you about your bill ? or to
know your wife ? yah, gad — yes, wife — ^wife. Sir John ; but T
am the bearer of letters from your sister, wonderful woman.
Lady William, and which I would have told you before had you
not been so confoundedly cross — gad, cross."
As they entered the bouse, Clift whispered Sir John not to
be too loving, for he hardly thought he could stand much love,
at which remark Sir John laughed, aind then ordered a room to
be prepared for his friend, and desired the horse, which had been
left outside, to be stabled and attended to.
In the parlour they found Lady Granby.
Introduced as an ambassador from Lady William, Mr. Clift
met with a polite reception, and delivered his credentials in an
official manner.
" I may mention," said that gentleman, handing a letter to
Lady Granby and another to Sir John, " that I am conunissioned
by Lady WUliam Frippingham to exert my humble talent in
the support of her letter which contains, I believe, a pressing
invitation for you both to return to town."
" So early," said Sir John in a tone of regret, and his lady
thought it was love that made him speak so.
"Lady Frippingham gives a grand party on the 16th, at
which she wishes our appearance," said Lady Granby, running
her eye over the note.
" It is a party," remarked Clift.
" Large ?" said Sir John.
" In number — yes ; high in rank — ^yes ; deep in diplomacy —
yes, again. Whatever particular art or science you may require,
will be found at Carlton Terrace on the 16th. The arrange-
ments are under my charge, and the affair will be, the affair of
the season, quite the affair."
Digitized by
Google
THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE. 89
" Under your charge," said Sir John, musingly
" Gad, yes ! My charge."
Mr. Clift then launched forth into the small talk of the day ;
amusing Lady Granby by his critical remarks, and acquainting
Sir Jolm with a good deal that gentleman was anxious to know.
" By the way : — Does Lady William speak of your house ?
It will be finished by the 12th."
« Our house ! "
" Sir John, yours. Your sister commissioned me to procure
you one, which I have done ; had it fiimished — neat, unique ;
hired domestics ; and, in short, have got the place perfected.
Gad ! yes, the place is ferfecHonP
" And where ? " asked Sir John.
" Wilton Crescent — house superb — furniture the thing."
" How very kind of Lady WDliam to undertake all this trouble ;
and we are much obliged to you. Sir, for arranging matters."
" Lady Granby, the trouble I had was — gad ! yes — pleasure,"
remarked Clifl;. "What is man fit for, but to work for his
friends ? So will I, always — gad ! yes, always."
Mr. Cllft having ingratiated himself with the lady, retired to
iis bed-room, and endeavoured to make himself look as decent
as circumstances would permit. There, Sir John waited on
bim; and the two confederates had a long and earnest con
versation respecting the past, present, and future position of
the Baronet.
Sir John had hunted his game successfully. He had before
tried his hand at " fortune-hunting ;" but not having his sister's
valuable aid, had been unsuccessful in his pursuit. Now,
having attained his object, he had a little more to do before he
could consider himself free from his embarrassments ; for
although the legal adviser of his sister had arranged matters
Tery much in his favour, there were a few clauses in the will of
Lady Granby's father and grandfather, which that gentleman,
great as were his powers, could not get over, and which left the
major part of the property entirely at the lady's disposal. So
that Sir John was not yet in that position which he had informed
his creditors immediately on his marriage he should be, a
situation in which he could settle their accounts.
When they met at dinner. Lady Granby looked so lovely and
seemed so happy with her husband, and Sir John appeared so
amiable and so good, that Clift, entirely astonished, forgot the
tales of scandal he had on hand for the gratification of his
friends, and came forth in quite a moral light upon sanitary
measures and suffering seamstresses. He charmed the lady
with his knowledge, and surprised the gentleman with his
impudence.
Digitized by
Google
90 THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE.
Arrangements were now made for immediately returning to
London; a return however rather dreaded by both parties.
And yet Sir John inew he dare not disobey his sister ; and
Lady Granby did not wish to disoblige her dear friend. In
these arrangements, Mr. Clift was a valuable auxiliary. He
was great at packing, expert in cording, threw aside superfluous
baggage with a clever knowledge of his business, and superin-
tended the cartage with great energy and untiring devotion.
A dinner had to be given, before they could well quit the
coimtry. It could not be a grand affair, as there were so few
people to partake of it ; still it must be, and accordingly it was.
Mr. Clift had some difficulty in looking decent for the occa-
sion, but one of Sir John^s waistcoats (slightly extended in the
back) and a little " patent reviver," at last got him into a pass-
able appearance, and he entered the drawing-room decidedly
the cleverest man present.
Country people are always ready for their dinners. At table,
Lady Granby had on one side Mr. Clift ; on the other, Doctor
• Glubb, Miss Martha Glubb sat next her papa. Then came
Captain Popplewell, Miss Bandall, Mr. Hawksly Smith, Mrs.
Popplewell and Sir John. Next to Mr. Clift was Mrs. Hawksly
Smith : next to her. Sir James Arlington, Miss Glubb, the Rev.
Mr. Latimer, the rector, and Lady Arlington.
Fourteen persons completed the party. The conversation
was for a long time purely local ; every one thought it a favour-
able opportunity to talk to his neighbours of personal matters,
so that excepting at grace said by the reverend gentleman, Sir
John, his lady, and Mr. Clift might be said to be shut out of the
party.
" He rides heavily," cried Mr. Smith at last, bawling at Sir
James Arlington.
" That's a clever chesnut of his to carry him," replied Sir
James.
" Not it ; my * Brown Sal ' would do it, aye and half a stone
more, too !"
^* You forget his weight, surely," said Sir James.
^^ Pooh, what is it ?" cried Mr. Hawksly Smith, indignantly.
As Sir James's mouth was ftdl of fowl, he couldn't reply.
Mr. Clift — ever anxious for a word — ^broke in.
" The heaviest rider I know is the Earl of Saddleback. His
Lordship rides seventeen and a half stone."
" A good weight, that," said Hawksly Smith.
" He rides a bay horse, very broad at the shoulders," con-
tinued Clift. " Bred by Colonel Gossett, at Melton. I offered
the Earl two hundred and fifty for him, for I wanted just such a
beast for M. de Zellever, the Austrian Nimrod."
Digitized by
Google
THE HOUR AND THE MOTIYB. 91
Mr. Clift jumped up directly in every body^s estimation.
Mr. Hawksly Smith took wine with him, and Sir James Arling-
ton smiled, and nodded approvingly.
^^ How< different London 'is from the country,^ cried Miss
Martha Glabb, speaking as country young ladias do, when
they will force a conversation without having any tlung to say.
*^ You have been in London ? ^ said Mr. CUft.
**0h yes, twice. We know almost every one in London.**
Clift exchanged a laugh with Lady Granby at the largeness
of the young lady's acquaintance, and merely said, ^^ Indeed!**
^Do you know the Twits, or the Barretts?" pursued Miss
Mardia,. heedless of the frowns, of her sister or of the pinch
which her father bestowed upon her.
*'The Twits? gad, no. The Barretts? no. Gad, Twits? no."
^ The Barretts live at Savage Gardens.''
"Savage where ?" said Mr. Clift.
" Savage Gardens," replied the lady.
"Will any person in company tell me where, gad,. where
Savage Gardens are ? In what place are they situated ?"
^ Lq the city," cried Miss Martha indignandy.
" The city ! A glass of. wine with you, Sir James. I don*t
know such a place, but by name." ,
The wine was drunk. Mr. Clift's hauteur posed Miss Martha.
Mrs. Hawskly Smith looked smilingly at Mr. Clift, the female
Glubbs and Smith being enemies*.
"I have lately been in London," said the rector to Miss
Randall, whom he knew. " What an excellent meeting we had
at Exeter Hall."
" For what ? " inquired Lady Arlington.
Miss Randall made all manner of signals with her lips to the
clergyman, but they were not understood.
" To send Missionaries to Ireland. It's a holy work ! "
" What is ? " asked Sir John Granby, who, taking wine vrith
Mrs. Fopplewell, had not heard of what they had been
speaking.
^^ To rescue ft'om the idolatrous worship of the Papist Church
eight millions of fellow creatures," repliea the rector.
" Oh!" murmured Sir John.
" Have you made any collection lately ? You used greatly
to assist us," continued Mr. Latimer to Miss Bandall. " Lady
Arlington, you would perhaps subscribe ; and our hostess,
whose character for benevolence is so established here — ^"
" What is it, Mr. Latimer ? " asked Lady Granby.
Before Sir John, Clift, or Miss Randall could stop him, the
rector burst out with —
^^ The mission of the Irish Church, for the express purpose
Digitized by
Google
92 THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE.
of converting from the absurdities of the Popish faith our fellow
creatures. A holy work !"
Lady Oranby was shocked. Daring her marriage trip she
had unfortunately surrendered herself so entirely to Sir John,
that she had paid no attention to her religious duties. Although
she had regularly, night and morning, recited her prayers, yet
she had not been once to Mass nor given heed to the particular
days that had elapsed since her marriage. Now this negligence
rose up against her and brought reflection to bear upon the
past. She burst into tears.
There was great commotion, much sympathy, and plenty of
discourse, for none of the country party knew the cause. Lady
Granby retired to her room, and Miss Randall did the duties
assigned to the lady of the house, but the circumstance threw a
dulness over the proceedings. When the ladies retired, Mr.
Clifit tried to be facetious, and succeeded for a short time, but
Sir John was gloomy and discontented. The party soon broke
up, and every one looked relieved.
The next day the Granby party left for London — Lady
Granby in tears. Sir John vainly tried to sooth her. But
no ; there was that on her mind which even he could not remove
— tiie sense of guilt.
rTo be continued. J
Digitized by
Google
93
THE INFLUENCES OF NATIONAL FAITH.
BY THE EDITOR.
"What will you take for luncheon ?" asked our courteous
hostess as we sat at her plentifully-served table : '^ some cold
chicken ? or will you help yourself from that stewed venison ? "
^ Nothing, thank you, more than a potato and a bit of bread,"
we replied casting hungry eyes on all the nice things before us.
" Only a potato ! You will be starved ! Why will you not
take some meat ? *' she kindly inquired.
" Because this is Lent and fasdng is enjoined — ^in the Book
of Common Prayer."
" Is it ? '* she said : — " I believe it is : but, you know, we never
attend to it."
"No: you keep the fast in your book — the pleasantest way
o/leeping it — and leave us to keep it in reality."
The luncheon went merrily forwards : while like a mummy
at an Egyptian feast decked in bravery on the outside but all
hollow within, we ourselves made our collation on potatoes and
glorious beer, and sat the only memorial of the holy season that,
professedly, was of equal obligation to us all.
And yet although not one person in a thousand of the mass
of the population of Protestant England either knows that this
is Lent or in what Lent differs from any other season — ^there be
units who try to act up to the spirit of their prayer-book and
fondly fancy that they are reuniting themselves with the Church
^hen they practise a pan of its discipline. With a few, such illu-
sions obtain : but an idea, a conceit of which all but themselves
see the futility, only causes the many to object more strenuously
to what they ignorantly suppose to be the doctrine of modem
pQseyism. Thus while the inhabitants of Belgravia are distracted
hj the preachers of their four churches — ^by the doctrines of the
Itigh church and of the low church, of the dry church and of the
slow church, we believe that, out of pure spite to the high church,
the followers of all the other three join . in eating a greater
quantity of meat on Fridays and fasting days than they would
consume if no opposition called upon them to abstain !
An Anglican spirit is, necessarily, a spirit of opposition.
Engendered in opposition to the Catholic Church, then subdi-
vided into sects opposed to each other, the Establishment and
Dissent, in their corporate characters, are for ever on the qui
^ve, as if to note the varying movements of an adversary. '^ The
Digitized by
Google
94 THE INFLUENCES OF NATIONAL FAIT6.
more massa call, the more me won^t come,^ is the feeling that
actuates many ; they think *^ The more Mr. Bemiett fasts, the
more I'll eat." So that, on the whole, the butchers do not lose
by this attempt to restore the observance of Lent.
But beyond such a worthless attempt and such a contest,
beyond the circle of the gentry who have taste and leisure to
notice such matters, how, we inquire, is the season of Lent attended
to, how is it even known by the great bulk of oar population?
We have seen that they do not fiBtst. Some of the churches are
opened on week*days ; do they enter them ? They have never
been trained to do so : they have never been taught that
religion was other than a Sunday service : and more are now
interested in withholding from them, than in imparting to them
any other feeling. The clergyman of our ovm parish has made
the attempt. He has read service on week*days : two or three
have attended ; and their employer gave them notice to quit his
service if they thought of other matters than of his work.
But they have not felt the want of other thoughts. As not
one in a thousand knows aught of the season that is passing, so
have they not that yearning devotion, that pious longing which
ever calls upon the Catholic to lift up his heart on high, while
his religion supplies the wings on which it may soar aloft And
this is felt by every worldly-minded Protestant — or rather by
every calm and dispassionate looker-on : all, except the mere
creatures of habit, feel and lament the difference between
the formalism of Protestant and the devotion of Catholic
eountriesr —
** For churches there (with reverence be it said)
Are not too holy held for week-day tread.
But each, at will and unrebuked for wrong,
May come and muse their column'd aisles along :
And some high influence win or grave delight
From picture, incense or the chanted rite ;
Or find fit tour, as every passing day
Its joy or sorrow brings — to praise or pray."*
Oh, how different, oh how sublimely different is the manner
in which Lent is being kept by the highest and the lowest, by
the richest and the poorest Catholic in London ! Thronged
every day in the week are the churches and chapels by willing
worshippers, glad to join in each succeeding service. From
every pulpit, resound the appeals of the most eloquent preachers
in England, whom the zeal of the parochial clergy has invited
• From •' A Day at Tivoli." By John Kenyon.
Digitized by CjOOQ IC
THB INFLUENCES OP NATIONAL FAITH. 95
to assist their own exertions. The confessionals are besieged
bj sinners anxious to perfect the work of their conyersion and
to make their peace with Ood. The communion rails are
crowded by humble-minded but happy adorers, receiving, with
heartfelt love, gratitude and faith, Him whom henceforth they
are resolved to make their way, their truth and their life. And
there — ^there at one richly adorned altar, amid a blaze of tapers
supported by costly candelabras and intertwined with evergreens
and hothouse plants — ^the offerings of the most wealthy and of
the poorest of the congregation— there, on such a throne as
poor mortality can raise for Him, reposes the Infinite, the Holy,
llie True : beholding the tears and listening to the sighs that,
from noon to night and from night to morning. His loving
followers pour out before Him. In every church in turn. He
calls His grateful subjects around Him : and while an appointed
number of the congregation voluntarily divide the hours of the
day and the watches of the night in well-considered adoration,
hundieds and thousands come in as their opportunity and de^o-
tioo prompt them, and kneel, in silent a^doration, while their
hearts overflow with love and with hope. Oh blissful are those
silent watches of the night to the well-regulated souls who have
accustomed themselves to meditation, and to seek and to enjoy
solace there where alone it can be found! And sweet they
become even to the more lukewarm who ofibr themselves to the
pious service. The first half hour may, indeed, be one of
difficulty — may be one of religious meditation contending with
worldly thoughts and involuntary distractions: but soon the
spirit feels itself gently drawn within the holy influence: soon
the God of love speaks to the heart in sweetest inspirations.
Then does the heart responsive abandon itself to the call;
^' Speak Lord for thy servant heareth," it softly sighs. And
when told that the hour of prayer has slid away and that
another is come to take the watcher's place, the Lord does
seem to speak and reproachfully yet lovingly to recall the
departing suppliant: ^^Can you not watch one hour longer,"
again the Saviour seems to say. ^ Oh, you know not yet the
fulness of love that I am prepared to pour out upon you.'*
*^Come to me you that labour and are heavy burdened ieind I will
refresh you." Again and again the entranced soul abandons
itself to the almighty spell : and before that blazing altar, yrhile
mighty London deeps around or riots in its unknown iniquity,
while not a sound is heard but the sigh of some kindred
but broken-hearted worshipper in a darkened aisle of the church,
it enjoys a happiness the remembrance of which will purify
and sanctify and exalt it in this world and, Qod so grant, in
heaven.
Digitized by
Google
96 THE INFLUENCES OF NATIONAL FAITH.
Who will not acknowledge that such a faith, that such a
system of worship necessarily influences the character of the
nation that practises it ?
We are aware that no mode of keeping Lent known to Pro-
testants could produce such feelings. The sacramental grace
being wanting, its fruits cannot appear. Oh little, indeed, do
the honest conscientious followers of a world-constructed system,
apprehend the spiritual blessings from which they debar them-
selves by their unintentional severance from the appointed
channels of God's communion with man ! Little do they appre-
hend how dry and sapless is the branch of the church, as they
love to call it, to which they cling with such unreasoning confi-
dence ! They are poor and know it not : they know not that
they are devoid of the life, the soul, the grace that radiate
through the Church, the very Spouse of Christ, and which pro-
duces, every day and every hour, effects which they either
attribute to other causes or totally misapprehend. Every daj
and every hour do we see the working of the Holy Spirit in
every Catholic family in the world : every day and every hoar
do we note the absence of the same Spirit from Protestant com-
munities and their recurrence to human expedients to supply
that which the grace of God would have alone effected. To the
Catholic, Lent is the season of prayer and mortification prepa-
ratory to the holy triumph of Easter, perpetuated, on every
Sunday, throughout the year. To the Protestant, Lent is a
season unknown or contradicted : and the blessed Sunday is a
day, not of triumph but of sadness. The modem feeling of the
nation has decreed that fasts ought not to be kept at all ; but
that Sundays ought to be kept like fasts. Hence, the gloom
with which Protestantism surrounds religion : hence the puri-
tanical bitterness vnth which every approach to light-heartedness
and joy is banished from the popular observance of Protestant
Christianity.
" Rejoice in the Lord always : again 1 say unto you rejoice,"
exclaims the apostle. Think of the "wicked man" and of
your sins, says the Anglican Establishment and its police;
solemnly attend your poverty-stricken service, and spend the
day which records the greatest mysteries of God's covenant of
mercy with man, in a manner suited only to record a doom of
vnrath. If you belong to a " respectable '^ station in society,
walk demurely to church in your best-brushed coat, with wife
and children trimly dressed, as if you were going to perform a
public penance rather than to praise and magnify the Giver of
all good ; stalk solemnly home in the same order ; eat a double
allowance of your Sabbath joint ; again join in solemn pro-
cession to church ; take a decorous walk in the parks, public
Digitized by
Google
THE INFLUENCES OF NATIONAL FAITH. 97
gardens, or country, where you will check every attempted
gambol of your children as an act of rebellion against a rigid
task-master ; return to your rueful home ; read the newspaper ;
smoke and doze away the evening ; and at last go to bed with
the thought of how much less irksome will be the Monday's
business than has been the Sunday's rest.
If your situation in life be otiier than ^'respectable,'' less
formal, indeed, but not more glad will be your Sunday. It is a
day of rest, in truth ; why, therefore, should you rise from bed
to go to morning service ? That service is but a repetition of
some prayers, is but the reading of some chapters from the
holy Scriptures, which, we will do you the credit of supposing
you intend to read by yourself, rightly thinking that they
can acquire no additional virtue from being read by the parson.
Yon will not, therefore, rise till dinner time ; then shave, wash
yourself, and go to church like your betters : the parson and
the squire's lady have seen you, and all is well. But how to
pass the dreary afternoon ? Games exists only in the '^ Book
of Sports;" music has been disused; the very taste for it has
been forgotten, since it has been prohibited on the only day
on which you had leisure to learn it; so you turn into the
public house or beer shop, and spend the rest of the Lord's
day — ^in the only manner which Protestantism leaves available
to you.
Shall we be told that the weekly recurrence of such a day of
gloom or debauchery does not act upon the national charac-
ter ? Shall we be told that it does not necessarily drive those
who are subject to it to attach feelings of preponderating sad-
ness and mortification to all religion ? Whence should come
that expansion of the heart, that Christian good will, that con-
sideration for the feelings of others, that wish to oblige, to
please and to be pleased, which, in the natives of foreign
countries, we call politeness ? Who will believe that the spirit
of Catholicism does not promote this, as the spirit of Protes-
tantism promotes the reverse — surliness, self-sufficiency, or
pride, which we all admit to be now characteristic of the
nation ? If all that we hear of the ^^ merry England" of former
days be true, such were not then our characteristic marks?
But we were Catholics then.
And in very deed, while we boast that we are now the most
grave and thoughtful people in the world, do we not feel that
diere is a fund of humour at the bottom of the national heart
which tells us that our gravity is superadded to our natural
character ? If so (and we think that the gravity of our manners
in public, and our quiet relish of the wit of Punch in private,
will go far to prove to each one the truth of our supposition) we
Digitized by
Google
98 THE INFLUENjCES OF NATIONAL FAITH.
unhesitatingly assert that religion is the superincumbent night-
mare that saddens all our days. Observed with sober sadness,
it must throw its gloom over all. With Catholics, it is a source
of joy ; with Protestants, when is it ever so ? We have shown
with what gloom the Sunday is observed : how otherwise is
observed a day of general fasting and humiliation ? We have
recently seen the whole nation endeavour to deprecate the anger
of the Almighty by a solemn fast, that He would avert die
cholera : we have since seen the whole nation celebrate a day
of thanksgiving in gratitude that the pestilence had been removed
from us. What difference was there in the public observance
of these days ? In the former instance, people closed their
shops and abstained frpm business — (forgetting that toil and
labour was the appointed punishment for sin, and therefore
most appropriate for penitential times) — people closed their
shops, and, in some few instances, perhaps, they may have
fasted in private : on the latter occasion, did they rejoice in
public ? No : the day had been set apart for religious rejoicing,
and, as a matter of course, it was usurped by religious gloom.
How different are the practices, because how different are the
feelings, of Catholic countries ! We may be thought to pass
our Sundays and festivals with too little sanctification when,
afiCer our church services, we join in the relaxation of society
and its amusements : but that we may not moot a question of
controversy, we will remark only upon the different spirit that
animates our religious ceremonial. It is a day of rejoicing — a
festival day : it is the fete of All Saints, of Corpus Christi, of
the Assumption, or of the patron saint of the town : it is a day of
spiritual rejoicing, and shall we not show it forth in our churches?
See the gay banners that stream from their portals: see
the hangings of silk tapestry and gold that conceal their mosaic
walls and marble pillars : see the rich vestments of the officiating
clergy : see the countless lights that blaze upon the altars : hear
the glad allelujahs that echo among the groined arches : how
triumphant is all the service ! And now, not even the sanctuary
suffices for the expression of our joy. Banners, statues, lights,
bearers, form themselves in procession : the clergy place them-
selves at their head: they perambulate the aisles of the church;
they go forth into the quiet lanes of the hamlet, or into the noblest
streets of the city: every vnndow hangs forth its tapestry:
flowers and evergreens wave in triumphal arches from house to
house, and are strewed on the pavement as the procession
moves along : bands of music play tunes of joy or of defiance,
and blend their notes with the hymns sung by the devotees :
the population rejoices before and behind: together, they return
to the church ; and the ceremony probably concludes with a
Digitized by
Google
THB INFLUENCES OF NATIONAL FAITH. 99
solemn benediction given by Him wbom tbey have adored
beneath humble veils, the Lord of Life and of Light. '^Hosan-
nah to the Son of David ! Blessed is he that cometh m the
name of the Lord !"
" The Hebrew crowd with palm boughs came to meet thee :
With prayer and vows and hymns we come adoring.
They pleased thee : so be pleased with our devotion,
King good and kind to whom all good things are pleasing."
Mast not, we ask, the frequent recurrence of such ceremonies
influence the habits of thought and feeling of those who take
part in them? They do influence them to gladness; as the
recurrence of a Judaic-Protestant sabbath must influence them
to gloom.
But in thus noting only the outward exhibitions of religion,
we would not have those mysterious inward workings in which
it enlivens the individual spirit overlooked, albeit they cannot
he 80 brought in personal evidence before us. The channels
are ever open in the Catholic Church through which the grace
of God silently flows in a continuous stream into the soul of her
/oliowers. How soothing and cheering, from very infancy, are
the feelings with which a Catholic child becomes £Eimiliarized
vith his religion ! He ever signs himself with the sign of the
cross ; or seeing the revered image, he cannot at such times but
think of a God whose boundless love condescended to child-
hood and to human suffering ; he sprinkles himself with holy
water and believes that he is imprecating, by the very act, a
blessing ; he whispers his first faults in a confessional, and
comes away with feelings of light-hearted content and of cheer-
fulness, leading to improved conduct, which those only who
have lived with Catholic families can apprehend; with more
solemn, but also with more loving devotion, he prepares himself
to receive the great sacrament of love — filled, indeed, with a sense,
of his own unworthiness, but filled also with a still stronger
sense of the mercy and the goodness and the condescension
o{ his God : it is no mere commemoration in which he is called
to enact a part ; but he is about to be visited by the veiy Author
and Source of divine charity Himself, by " the God who rejoiceth
his youth.'' And as, one by one, he attains to and enjoys these
different blessings of religion, how is he cheered and enlivened
by the sweet doctrine of the communion of saints, which Pro-
testantism has so completely ignored ! There they cluster above
him, the blessed ones of God, to encourage and to guide him
on his way. They have heard him sigh forth the little sorrows
with which he would almost have feared to appeal to the
Ahuighty : she, the mother of Him who sat a suffering child on
Digitized by
Google
100 THE INFLUENCES OF NATIONAL FAITH.
her knee, she too smiles upon him and will surely win from
that God-Child the grace he needs. Thus is his hope and
confidence exercised and sustained : he has friends who are
the friends of God : how can such a faith make him otherwise
than happy and cheerful ?
But iif communion with the saints in heaven exalts him, how
does that with the dear ones who are dead sooth and sanctify
him ! — how does it inspire pity, and tenderness, and humanity,
and mutual dependence ! The feeling of the communion of
saints still unites him in charity with all. Those whom, per-
haps, even he has lived long enough to lore and to lose — she
whom he remembers to have nursed, to have fondled, and to
have caressed him, to have taught him his first little practices
of religion, she may, perhaps, have left him, he knows not how
nor wherefore; but he kisses the feet of the crucifix, and
gravely whispering " O God, be good to dear mama," looks
round with a glance of blended solace and tenderness and
inquiry, which the knowledge of after years will methodise but
will scarcely change.
Protestants cannot apprehend the readiness with which
Catholic children fall into and adopt all the practices based
upon articles of belief, which to them appear so hard to be
received. We will not now attempt to account for this beauti-
ful dispensation of the Almighty. Certain it is that no doctrine
of the Catholic Church presents the slightest difficulty to the
mind of one educated within its saving influence. The ^^ tre-
mendous mystery" of tran substantiation offers not the slightest
obstacle to the mind of the most inquiring Catholic child. It
asks for instruction, but it receives the explanation fiiUy, frankly,
undoubtingly and lovingly. The grace of God operates. It
is only needful to "suffer little children to come unto" Him.
If not kept back, they will do so ; they will do so of their
own accord, or by the grace working through baptism.
This paper has extended itself to a greater length than we
had anticipated when we noted down our first observations.
We do not profess to deduce from them any positive or
universally-applicable conclusions. But as our remarks are
general and intended to apply to the masses of Protestantism
and of Catholicism, so would we not that they should be met
by individual examples deduced from either creed. Exceptional
cases will ever occur ; but if it be true that religious belief in-
fluences the conduct, and the character through the mind and
the affections, then we ask our readers to inquire whether the
inhabitants of Catholic and of Protestant countries exhibit such
characteristics as we have imputed to them ; and, if so, whether
the religion of the majority may not have produced them.
Digitized by
Google
VERSES FOR THE MONTH. 101
Temporal prosperity, we may admit, has often followed in the
wake of Protestantism ; but even were it the consequence of
that religious system, which we do not allow, for more material
causes will account for it, still every Christian will acknowledge
that temporal prosperity is no index of spiritual well-being.
"God chastiseth whom He loveth." What we ask is, that the
two systems, that the manner in which each appeals to the
affections, to the sympathies, to the mind of man, should be
placed in juxtaposition. Dispute our doctrines if you will;
call our practices superstitious if you think them so ; imagine
our system to be a mere human invention ; but false, super-
stitious, mistaken as you may think those practices, consider
whether they are not likely to win, to sooth, to refine, to exalt
the affections ; to add grace and happiness and peace on earth
to men of good will.
VERSES FOR THE MONTH.
EASTER SUNDAY.
Allelujali ! Allelujah ! Christ is risen from the dead !
AUelujah ! Allelujah ! see fiilfiird whatever He said !
All the Lord declared of old,
All the prophecies foretold.
All Christ plainly spoke and all
He said in sign and parable —
He hath all fulfilled and given
Proof His mission was from heaven :
Proof that He did not deceive —
Allelujah ! and believe !
This the day the Lord hath made —
Greatest day of all the year !
Where's the body that was laid
In the sepulchre : — oh where ?
See the anxious women come.
Bearing spices sweet and balm :
Trembling, they approach the tomb-
Gentlest words their terrors calm :
^' You seek Jesus : do not fear :
"He is risen : He's not here."
Digitized by
Google
102 JOYS OF LIFE.
Then John and Peter swifdy went,
Ban to search the monument.
How they look'd it round with care !
AUelujah ! He's not there !
He is risen, as He said ;
He's no longer 'mong the dead.
Think of all He said before :
How the temple He'd restore,
How....But no : go forth and be
Taught by Him in Galilee :
Go to meet Him; go receive
Power to know and Him believe.
Ignorance yet clouds your mind ;
To His mission ye are blind :
Haste to meet Him : haste to know
Wherefore He came down below ;
Wherefore He would die in pain ;
Wherefore He arose again.
All this will ye understand ;
Cheer ye, then, ye chosen band !
Cheer ye. Cast away your gloom.
Christ is risen from the tomb.
Let us allelujah cry.
AUelujah let us sing.
Grave, where is thy victory ?
Death, where is thy sting ?^
JOYS OF LIFE.
Shall we look on the Past or the Future, my soul ?
Where are we come from ? What is our goal ?
Years and months glide away. Is this life ? Is this all
That- the futu?-e will give us ? Oh, brave Carnival !
What a blessing is life ! What content doth it bring !
Oh who would not prize it and love it and cling
To existence so varied, so full of delight —
One long summer's day, shining on VFithout night !
Is this all the young spirit once fancied of bliss ? . • . .
This is life — Be content — Who would have more than this ?
24KA March J 1850. Unknown.
• From " Church Hymns in English that may be sung to the old Church
Music, with approbation, and other poems,. By R. Beste, Esq. Published
by Burns and Lambert."
Digitized by
Google
103
THE GORHAM CASE OR CHASE AFTER TRUTH.
Alas for the poor Established Church ! Its difficulties must,
indeed, move the hardest heart to pity ! Its members are told
to search the Scriptures : they do so : they chase the truth from
gospel to epistle : from simple "priest" to Bishop ; from Bishop
to Archbishop : from Archbishop to Arches Court : from Court
of Arches to Privy Council. Led on by the Jack o' Lantern,
Protestant truth, the whole country joins, frdl-mouthed, in the
pursuit While truth
" Still doubles to mislead the hounds,
And measures back her mazy rounds :"
Prelatic authority and ecclesiastical tribunal, instead of affording
shelter to the persecuted one, lead her astray by turns ; till at
length fairly perplexed and exhausted she takes refuge in the
Court ofthe Privy Council; while millions stand a' gape outside
to see to whom shall be decreed the honour of having run her
down and secured her.
Once upon a time, a neighbour of John Gilpin
" a citizen
Of famous London town,"
elated by the feats of his cousin, resolved that he also would go
out of tovm one bright September morning and, as the Court
Circulars say of Prince Albert, " enjoy a day's sporting," He
was determined that he would do the thing as it ought to be
done ; and, he equipped himself in a suit of the very newest
&shion that Moses and Son had imported. Bright and tight-
laced were his boots : his leggings were of the brightest leather
and contrasted beautifully with his well-fitted white corduroys :
Ks waistcoat was of the brightest blue kerseymere : his coat was
of spotless Lincoln green : the buttons were of enamelled steel
and glowed, like opals, with the mimic picture of pheasants,
partridges and black-game upon the wing and flying, as he
beheved, from his own pursuit ; a wide-awake hat, bound with
green ribbon, topped the whole man and overshadowed his
portly countenance. An unsoiled belt that slimg from his
shoulders across his
** Fair round belly with fat capon lined,"
bore up the powder flask the shot and the game bag which
were sevei^ally to bring down the game and to convey it
to his neat larder suspended in the shade of a north wall in his
I 2
Digitized by
Google
104 THE GORHAM CASE OR CHASE AFTER TRUTH.
back axea. Bright looked the sportsman, bright looked the
morning, and bright looked the fowling-piece which he proudly
handled : — it w^s well Sir Charles Napier was not there to see
in what manner ! He had borrowed a noted pointer from a
friend : and securing it and himself in a hired dog cart, bow
merrily he rattled through the streets and passed three suburban
toll-gates ere the country appeared to be sufficiently rural to
grow partridges ! At length, he pulled up at a quiet road-side
inn : and afraid of showing his ignorance by giving any
directions about the 'tendance of his horse, he abruptly left it
with the ostler ; whistled his dog ; and climbing over a gate
into the nearest field, away they went together.
Away, indeed, they went. The dog, delighted to be set free,
bounded from his side and scouring up and down and across
the stubble field, hunted it with the system of a well broke but
wild pointer.
" Confound the brute ! " exclaimed our citizen with the feel-
ing that stimulated Philip's mighty son ; " he'll catch all the
game himself and 1 shall have nothing to do ! "
So saying, away again he started in pursuit of the dog.
Whistling, swearing, sweating, he strode and ran after it across
and up and down the field. The pointer leapt a stile into
another, and again went through the same manoeuvre : his mas-
ter followed, and double-hunted after him the crackling stubble.
The dog heeded not his calls : but with nose low laid, scudded
away before him, and so through another and another field ;
until, in a beautiful turnip fallow, he somewhat slackened his
pace : at length, he paused : almost stood : then creeping slowly
forwards for a few yards, stood like a dog carved in wood— one
foot beautifully upraised; his neck elongated ; his eyes starting
from his head ; — his tail stretched out like that of the lion at
the top of Northumberland House. Our sportsman felt that the
opportunity was not to be lost. He also slackened his pace ;
and creeping up behind the pointer, at length made a sudden
dash and clutching the outstanding tail, exclaimed ^^ By Jove
I have caught thee at last ! "
Away flew a covey of birds, to the right and left, before the
eyes of the eager sportsman.
Such, or very similar, has been the chase after the doctrine
of Baptismal regeneration. Keen-nosed divines followed it
through Gospel, prayer book, and rubric ; but Mr. Gorham and
his brother sportsmen of the low Church and the laity felt cut out
and distanced in the chase ; they pursued it through every court
in the kingdom, till at last they overtook it and seized upon it
in the Privy Council ; while truth, like the covey of partridges,
disappeared unheeded by the eager disputants.
Digitized by
Google
THE OORHAM CASE OR CHASE AFTER TRUTH. 105
For it must be remembered that, in its judgment, the Privy
Council distinctly refuses to enter into the question as to which
doctrine is true. It decides as a court of law upon the statute.
The facts being that, whereas the crown had presented Mr.
Gorham to the vicarage of Brampford Speke, die Bishop of
Exeter, in whose diocese it is, reftised to institute hira, on the
ground that he did not hold orthodox Anglican doctrine on the
subject of Baptismal regeneration ; the decision of the Bishop
had been approved by tiie ecclesiastical Court of Arches, which
entered into the doctrinal question, but is now overruled by
the Privy Council, which decides that, although Mr. Gorham's
views may be heterodox, they are not so flagrantly opposed
to the statutes as to authorize his deprivation of the living.
Thus when an action was brought against a gamekeeper for
shooting a strange dog pursuing a hare, the learned judge before
whom the case was tried, decided that, although in running
down the hare the dog might have been committing a grave
offence, yet the offence was not one deserving death.
We should be sorry to pain the really conscientious, although
iiiithinking, adherent of the Established Church, by treating
this matter with levity ; but the case presents itself in an aspect
so ridiculous to the Catholic theologian, that we really cannot
seriously argue upon it. Popular Protestantism, we believe,
considers the decision a masterpiece of diplomacy, since it
avoids giving offence to either the high or the low Church
partf , by pronouncing an opinion opposed to the views of
either ; but can Catholics, who believe religious truths to have
a higher sanction than the statutes of any realm, can they look
with respect upon such a decision ? After it, can Anglicans
themselves respect their own ecclesiastical system ? Let any
one say what it is ; let any one say that it is other than the coarse
phrase attributed to Queen Elizabeth, namely, that she " had a
pope in her belly." Every Anglican is, by this judgment,
declared to have a pope in his belly, and to be justified in
putting whatever interpretation he pleases upon article, or
prayer book, or rubric. " One of the points left open by the
articles," says the judgment, "is determined by the rubric: —
*lt is certain, by God's word, that children which are baptised,
dying before they commit actual sin, are undoubtedly saved.'
But this rubric does not, like the article of 1536, say that such
children are saved by baptism ; and nothing is declared as to
the case of infants dying without having been b&ptised."
We have heard the rector of our parish assert that the Book
of Common Prayer was the code he was sworn to administer ;
that he repudiated the Holy Scripture, whose texts each one
^ight explain according to his o'^n pleasure, while the doctrine
Digitized by
Google
106 THE GORHAM CASE OR CHASE AFTER TRUTH.
of the Prayer Book was definite and positive ; and, at his
suggestion, every little grave stone in the shady and beloved
churchyard bears that rubric inscribed upon it. We pity now the
rector, we pity now the parents of the little ones ; but in real troth,
the judgment of the Privy Council ought to be added to the
inscription. In the same manner as, to satisfy the anti-Catholic
scruples of the Irish parson, offended by the scroll on a grave
stone that called on the faithful to "Pray for the soul*' of a
deceased Catholic, Rory O'More engraved the words "Do not"
at the head of the inscription, so ought the doubt stated by the
Privy Council to be added to the assertion on the graves of our
Protestant little innocents.
" There are other points of doctrine respecting the sacrament
of baptism," continues the sentence, "which, we are of opinion,
are, by the rubrics and formularies (as well as the articles)
capable of being honestly understood in different senses — and
consequently we think that all ministers of the Church, having
duly made the subscriptions required by law (and taking holy
Scripture for their guide), are at liberty honestly to exercise
their private judgment without offence or censure. Upright
and conscientious men cannot, in all respects, agree upon
subjects so difficult."
Now it seems to us that, after such a statement has been
promulgated by the highest authority, we may "honestly" ask
wherefore there should be any dissent in England ? How can
people manage to dissent from that in which so much latitude
is allowed ? " Upright and conscientious men cannot," it
seems, *^ agree upon subjects so diflScult." Wherefore, dien,
should upright and honest men depart from a communion so
accommodating as this latitudinarian establishment? Frown
who will, latitudinarian it is now declared to be by the highest
authority. We have heretofore heard Catholic divines rejoice
when any disputed question of Anglican theology was brought
before the legal tribunals ; their arguments had been so often
met by assertions that the faith was different from what they
imagined, that they rejoiced in the anticipation of legal defini-
tions and orthodoxy decided by statute. That hope can be
cherished no longer. It is now decided " That, if any article
is really a subject of dubious interpretation, it would be highly
improper that this Court should fix on one meaning, and prose-
cute all those who hold a contrary opinion regarding its inter-
pretation."
What then, we again ask, is the test of truth in this Church
by law established? What can require, what can justify,
dissent from its communion ? We know but of one motive of
''^ssatisfaction which any reasonable Protestant can now enter-
Digitized by
Google
THE GORHAM CASE OR GHASE AFTER TRUTH. 107
tain ; it is the grievance of the farmer, when visited by the
rich non-resident rector of his parish : —
"Well, Mr. Jones," said the latter; "how do you like the
new curate I have sent you ? "
" Woant do for uz, zur."
"Won't do for you! Why not? Do you object to his
doctrine ? "
"Noah ; a preaches the word ; but woant do for uz ? **
"Nonsense!" exclaimed the rector. "What fault can you
find with him ?"
"A doant give enough o Latin and Greak in a zarmons."
"Well ! 1 should have thought that an advantage," said the
lector, laughing. " You would not understand him if he did,
would you ? "
"Noah ; but ye zee, zur, we pays for the best harticle, and
we has a right to have un."
What better reason can now be given for dissenting from a
Cburch that admits all doctrines ? We think, like the farmer,
ftat the labourer ought to be worthy of his hire, and would leave
die Established Church if it could not define its "harticles."
But although this judgment renders 'Qie position of the
Anglican Church, as a Church, ridiculous in the eyes of every
one whose ecclesiastical knowledge extends beyond the control
of the preacher under whom he sits and the dimensions of the
" Schism shop " in which he worships — ^it awakens deeply pain-^
fill feelings in reference to the thousands who will be disgusted
with it, as we are, and who will yet endeavour to salve it over to
their own consciences. It will prove to them the monstrosity
of the pretensions of the Anglican to be a Church in any other
sense than as established by a law which the state tribunal is
afraid of enforcing ; their every feeling will revolt from the
latitudinarian principles proclaimed for safety sake : but a pro-
posal to appeal to convocation (which they know will not be con-
voked) or some other device of which they will feel all the
{utility when first advanced, will win them to live on in passive
resistance ; giving the countenance of their imwilling adherence
to a system that will be recommended to others by the very
decision which they themselves repudiate. To millions of the
low Church party, this judgment will give comfortable encourage-
ment and assurance : and the more tamely the learned of the
lugh Church submit to it, the more will be extended that pan-
theistic latitudinarianism which they deplore.
In apparently-serious sadness, an inquirer once asked '^What
18 tl^e truth." The same question will be now more strongly
than ever urged, in all the pride of varying, upstart self-sufficiency.
What is the difference between the boasted "right of private
judgment" and the judgment of Privy Counsel ?
Digitized by
Google
108
REGISTER
NEW PUBLICATIONS. CORRESPONDENCE, AND EVENTS.
The Editor of the Catholic Magaziitb amd Begibteb desires that his Corres-
pondents and Contributors may alone be held responsible for the opinions and
sentiments that each may express. But he invites oar Venerable Clergy and all
Catholics to send him information on all matters of religious interest in theii
several ueighboorhoods.
NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.
A Day at Tivoli and other verses. By John Kenyon, Author of a "Rhymed
Plea for Tolerance/' &c. 1 Vol. 8vo. Longman.
The compositions which this Author calls "verses" and "rhymes/' hut
which we call right sterling poetry, ought to be cherished by all lovers of
the beautiful ; and, especially, by all English Catholics. We dislike tolera-
tion : our spirit rebels at the idea of being tolerated— that one man should
assume a right to tolerate another: but Mr. Kenyon evidently uses the
expression in no ofPensive sense : for the "Plea" that he alludes to on his
title page advocates an enlarged liberality in an enlarged and beautiful spirit.
The volume before us contains several poems replete with poetic beautiei
and with the musings of a thoughtful, a kindly, and a refined "mind at
ease." The first, the "Day at Tivoli," evinces such deep and *' soul-felt
delight" in the climate, the scenery, and the associations of Italy, that we
marvel how one who so enjoys that favoured land, can resign himself to
dwell in England, instead of
"Where all around is one Ausonian blue.
Not the fresh dawn, not evening's tenderest hour,
Speak to the spirit with a deeper power.
As eye and heart strain up that azure air,
What light— what love — what fixedness is there !
Transient — we know /—Eternal — ^let it seem !
With such blue sky we only ask to dream."
The following lines curiously corroborate the opinions expressed in the
opening Article of the "Catholic Magazine" for last month ; and prove that
Protestants like our Author, are sensible of the different effect produced by
Protestant and by Catholic alms : he writes
" But where wealth's stringent or out-doling hand
From point to point wide stretches o'er a land ;
In power or bounty ever seen or felt.
Like lictor*s fasces or an almsman's belt,
Though order hence, with all its blessings flow —
As fertilizes waters guided go-
Yet as henceforth we lose the stream that play'd
Through its own runnels free and not afraid ;
So there by wealth — or purchas'd or controU'd —
Word, gesture, look, in native frankness bold.
Are quell'd, like Sprite, beneath the wand of Qold."
It is not often that Protestant tourists express such sentiments as those
with which our Author assumes (though we diff^ from him in the estimate
Digitized by
Google
NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 109
which he would seem to fonn of the religious intelligence of the people)
** Silvered Saints and Virgins fancy^drest
For peasant- worshippers may be the best:"
Or who draw so fair a contrast between the power of the Cnsars and that
of religion over —
''The far off realms fhey sway'd but with the sword
Crouch'd at a swordless pontififs slightest word."
The Yolume contains a translation of a very curious Gypsey carol written
in the Proven9al dialect, and describing the supposed meeting of three
Gypsies with our Saviour on bis flight into Egypt, and the fortune they teU
Him. Perhaps we may recur to this hereafter : meanwhile, our Catholic
leaders will welcome, from the epilogue of that carol, the following tribute
to the creed of —
-" Onr elder race. Their faith, they knew,
Was strong for daily wear ; a staff to trust 1
No flimsy robe hung up the whole week through.
And but for Sunday-service cleans'd from dust
But a stout faith that, free from formalism,
(On which Devotion's name too oft we dub,)
In week-day life, nor found nor sought a schism.
But mingled with it and could bear the rub."
We much regret that our limits oblige us to leave a volume on which we
wonld have willingly lingered long — a volume full of poetry, heart-felt and
iiitelli|(ible : a rare qualification in these days. We would, however, draw
attention to the piece entitled, ** Raising the Dead," as being, beyond all
description, strange, and yet beautiful in its strangeness. The author asserts
tkat the power was, for a time, given to him to call up the spirits of the
^ead whom he wished to see. The assertion is most positive : the descrip-
tion of what he saw is most minute. It is a strange poem ; and although
tbe versification is totally different, it reminds us of Coleridge's Christabel,
or the Dream of Kubla Khan.
The Sister of Charity, 2 Vols. l8mo. By Mrs. A. H. Dorsey. Dolman.
This is the most interesting of the publications of Mrs. Dorsey that we
We yet seen. There is more of human affection in it than in the others ;
U)d although the story is delayed by many controversial and religious dis-
cussions, they are interwoven with it more or less throughout.
We believe it is dangerous to hint to Americans that their pronunciation
of the English language is not always perfect : but we hope our fair Authoress
will take in good part the expression of our wish that she would not at times
^opt a phraseology and a style of description above the subject, or the
image of which she treats. Very fine writing is very fatiguing to read, and
is almost always very incomprehensible. We are glad to be able to add
that she does not often give way to the temptation against which we would
warn her.
Inc€*8 Outlines of English History. Ince^s Outlines of General Knowledge^
For the Use of Schools. 2 Vols. 18mo. Gilbert.
Oh that our head could retain all the knowledge these little books
impart ! but no : one-hundredth part of so much "useful knowledge*' would
break even the Board that used to decide what volumes they would " diffuse"
through the world. And yet the title pages tell us thai twelve thousand copies
of the "General Outlines" have been circulated, and forty-nine thousand
Digitized by
Google
110 NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.
of the *' Outlines of English History/' As when George the Third heard
that two hundred surgeons had taken out diplomas to practise, he exclaimed,
** Oh my poor subjects I" — so we are tempted to exclaim " What disagreeable
animals our children will be if they remember all that is attempted to be
crammed into them now-a-days I*'
A Catechism of Classical Mythology. By T. O. 1 Vol. ISrao. Dolman.
We scarcely understand the use of this little volume. It cannot replace
Lempridre's Dictionary, as it contains comparatively so few notices. Were
the " Morning Post " to omit the names of one quarter as many of those
who attend Prince Albert's levies as I. O. omits of the gods and goddesses
who swell the court of Olympus, we tremble to think of the commotion that
would be created in the fashionable world. Happily the
" icbor.
Or some such uther spiritual liquor,"
that flows ii9 the veins of pagan divinities, is now less rebellious to it, than it was
when Homer sang. However, the book may be of service to those who wish to
impart a selection of ancient mythological knowledge free from all objection-
able matter. If it goes to another edition, we recommend that the names
should be arranged alphabetically.
Father Felix, a Tale. By the Author of " Mora Carmody," &c. 1 Vol.
18 mo. Dolman.
This pretty story, interwoven with religious controversy, is suggestive of
much good feeling and of the Truth. It wins the reader on : chapter after
chapter, he is beguiled by the qtiiet story ; and at last is surprised to find
within himself a fund of awakened and pious sympathies that he knew not
could be so easily aroused. The character of the Blind Boy is remarkably
pleasing : and througbouti the volume are interwoven little episodes which
have an interest in themselves. That of the Guardian Angel is a pleasing
allegory, prettily told : though we should have liked it better, had the sub-
ject of it resisted the Enchantress; instead of falling, to rise by Repentance.
Christianity and the Church. By Rev. C. C. Pise, D.D. 1 Vol. 12mo.
Baltimore: Murphy. London: Dolman.
Dr. Pise is becoming widely known in England. His writings are of
admitted merit : and the work before us proves him to be quite as much, if
not more at home when inditing a grave treatise as when composing a
work of light fiction. A judicious collection from more lengthy works,
principally from that of Lahure, this volume is in some sort a history of
" the ways of God to man," of man himself, and of the workings of his
wayward and imperfect intelligence until brought under the saving influence
of the truth. It is a work that donne d pinser: and leading people to think,
will convey much information even to the well informed.
The Counting House Companion, Tables of prime cost, profit and rebate ;
sho^ving by one summation the clear gain on any specified outlay from one
penny to five thousand pounds, allowing to the purchaser a discount ranging
from two and a half per cent, to fifty per cent. Indispensable to all engaged
in manufacturing, buying, selling, importing or exporting whether as prin-
cipal or agents. 1 Vol. J 2mo. London : Piper.
We have given the title of this volume at full length, being convinced that
nothing we could say would so fully show the usefulness of the tables that
compose it. It is calculated to save many an aching head.
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. Ill
Fkf d'Bnmgnement Mixte ! Lettre ,ck M, de Parieu, Jfinittre d'Instrueiion
ft det Cultes, Par Jules Goudon, TUn des Redacteun de *' rUniven."
1 Vol. 12mo.
We believe that the time is rapidily approaching when all people will com-
pel all governments to admit that they have mistaken tneir vocation in
attemptiDK to supply the place of parent and pastor and to superintend the
education of their subjects. The work of M. Goudon conveys much infor-
mation on the relation of parties in France on this important matter : and
adduces examples from England which we should have perused with more
pleasure had governors and governed been always consistent to their prin-
ciples.
CORRESPONDENCE.
To the Editor qf the " Catholic Magazine and Regiiter."
Jesu Christi Passio.
Dbar Sir. — I proceed, with your permission, to enlarge a little on some
KQtences of the letter which you kindly inserted in the " Register " of last
month. 1 would in the first place call attention to what I said ; that the
conversion of England to Catholicity I looked on as an object of absorbing
interest. This I maintain it ought to be, not only to English Catholics, but
to Catholics throughout the world. Let it be considered what the Church
voQld gain by this acquisition. In the first place, there would be the acces-
sion to her ranks of the milhons of the Engtish nation, now separated from
lier, and of their children for generations to come. Thus for, however,
Bogland stands on a level with any other nation of equal population. But
if we consider her influence on the rest of the world, how rapidly does the
QDdertaking of her conversion rise in importance! Consider, first, the
veight of her influence on the Christian world. How would the Catholic
Rligion gain credit in Catholic countries, where it is generally so disre-
garded and despised by the majority, even of its nominal professors, if England
threw her weight into the right scale. I have often asserted that no Catholic
will be found in any part of .the world, who, if he cares for the welfare of the
Catholic Church in his own particular locality, will not look on this event as
the most important of all which could be contemplated. This is not merely an
idea of my own. I have learnt to think thus, from the way in which I have
heen received by zealous Catholics of all places and ranks with whom I have
conversed on the subject. Secondly, what would be the effect of this change
OB countries professing Christianity but separate from the Church ? I believe
^ the conversion of England to Catholicity would be a death-blow to
Protestantism in all the rest of the world. I eonceive, it mav almost be
*88erted, that Protestantism has no support left, except what it derives from
the example and countenance of England. If Protestantism was brought
to an end in England, surely it would not long stand in Ireland. I have
heen often told ^o that America, though extremely jealous of the power of
England, and our political rival, admires and follows all that is admired and
^shionable in England, and why should not America be drawn likewise to
Catholicity, if England embraced it ? Not to mention other countries, I will
advert only to one more, which 1 should say is, of all countries, perhaps the least
^nderthe moral influence of England : that is Russia. And what can I say
ofthat ? I will not give my thoughts, but those of one better able to judge.
JJ^en I was at Paris in 1838, beginning my work of begging prayers for
''Qgland, I visited a convent of the Sacr^ Coeur, and was making my appeal
to a company of the Religious. One sat by, who received what I said with a
Digitized by
Google
] 12 MONTHLY INTELLIOENCE.
degree of sadness, or at least not with the warmth shown hy the rest. She was
a Russian lady, of noble family, who had been converted, and had become a
nun of that order. I turned myself particularly to her, and asked if she
would not join. She answered, I am thinking of my country, of Russia,
which is dear to me as England is to you. I replied ; that praying for
England would not hurt the same cause in Russia; promise me to pray for
England, and we will remember also Russia. Four years later, I saw this
same Religious, returning through England from America, whither she had
been sent on some affairs of her order. I asked her, whether she remem-
bered sometimes to pray for England. Her answer now was, " Oh ! I never
pray for Russia : it is only England I pray for : because I see plainly, that
if England were gained, we should soon see progress made in Russia." This
zealous lady soon afterwards died, and I trust she does not now forget either
Russia or England. And will not England, once returned to the faith, do
something to bring back Germany ? It was by missionaries from England
that Germany was converted from heathenism : why not hope that England,
if she is the first to retrace her steps, may be again the helper of Germany?
And now, in the third place, what shall we say of the heathen world?
Wherefore has God given to England the empire she has gained over so
many tribes ; the power she possesses over so many more ; by her com-
merce, her wealth, and her wisdom. All this power, I know, may yet
continue to be abused, as it has been hitherto to other purposes than God's
glory : but he surely intended it, for the spread of his saving truth, and if
England herself were but once made obedient to the truth before she follows
in the track of the great empires of other days, and her greatness passes
from her, what might she not do — what will she not do ? Look at India,
where England rules over nearly a hundred millions; look at the vast
regions of Australia, and all the islands of the west : look at the deserts of
Africa, with their untold hordes, a door to which is open to England in her
southern settlements ; above all, look at the vast empire of China, with its
three hundred millions, of which England, the first of any Christian or
foreign power, now holds a key. If these circumstances be but dwelt upon
and presented before the eyes of the Catholic world, will they not move in
the cause of England's conversion, every heart animated with Catholic
charity and zeal ? We hear it said by some that the Hindoos cannot be
converted : nothing will persuade them to renounce their castes, and ail the
venerable associations, wound up in their ancient superstition; that the
Caffres and other tribes of Africa are too deeply sunk in brutish ignorance
of all which is beyond the reach of sense, to be capable of any impressions of
religion ; similar objections are made to any hopes for China and the rest.
True it may be, that great conquests may not be probable, as long as it is
but a single missionary, here and there, who makes his way alone through
these regions ; still less, so long as the efforts of England great as they are
for the propagation of religion, are necessarily made of no avail, for the two
reasons, that they are not in the cause of God's true Church, but of heretical
systems, on which no blessing can descend ; and that they are and must he
neutralized by division, so long as England is not Catholic. But what may
be looked for if En$2:land is converted to the unity of truth ? Even now,
England, Protestant England, though possessing no certainty of the truth
of what she teaches, having, in fact, only a number of contradictory and
confused shadows of truth to propagate, spends in the cause, through the
medium of her various societies, more than eight times what the entire
Catholic Church can command for the same purpose. I know not of any
efficient resources for this end in the Cathohc Church, besides what are
furnished by the Association for the Propagation of the Faith, founded at
Lyons, which collects the subscriptions of the entire Catholic world. Its
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 113
annual income amounts to about three millions of franks. Some years back,
I saw a statement of the incomes of Protestant societies for the spreadinfir of
Telifi[ion at home and abroad, raised by voluntary contributions, and they
amounted to nearly one million sterling, that is about 25 millions of francs.
And these exertions England perseveres in making year after year for half
a century together, though the success gained is avowedly next to nothing.
What could she not do, if she exchanged her shadows for the certainty of
faith ; and if she was encouraged by witnessing the success, which would
then attend her missions, as it has always attended the missions of the true
Church ? Consider withal, that for the same cost she would send about ten
times as many labourers into the field as she does now. For how stands the
case ? The Government of England now pays salaries to Protestant Bishops
and to Catholic Bishops at the same time, for the mixed population of some
of her colonies : I believe the regular salary of the former is £5,000 ; of the
latter £500; and the Catholic Bishop is richer on his £500, than the other
is on ten times as much. Let England then become Catholic. Let her
spirit of enterprise, her indomitable perseverance, those quahties which have
hitherto been directed with such marvellous success to the advancement of
her commerce, and the extension of her empire, be at length devoted to the
cause of God, and what should we not see ? The deserts of Africa may be
harren, but will not blood make them fertile at last ? I speak not of the
l)lood of the poor natives, with which our past policy and projects have
made it necessary too often to steep them ; but of the blood of Englishmen,
who would then go forth by thousands with the spirit of Boniface, Wilfred,
and Willibrord, to conquer for Christ, by patient suffering, those regions
which they have heretofore been subduing for themselves by violence and
rapine ; and would India or China, which have not given way before indi-
vidual exertions, resist the armies of Apostles and Martyrs from Ireland and
France, and other nations united with her own, which the ships of England
would then bear to those coasts to labour and to die. St. Francis Xa\rier
died in view of the coast of China, longing to enter it. Were he living now,
England, Protestant England, would give him the entrance, which was refused
him then ; and will not St. Francis pray for England now ? Has he forgotten
China ? Surely he will pray for England if we will do so ourselves. If we
care not to pray for our own cause, I know not how far the saints in heaven
may be hindered : as Jesus Christ himself could work no miracles in certain
places because men would not believe; but if we please we may command
help enough. I must now conclude — and I ask each English Catholic, will
vou enlist your name in the great cause of England's conversion ? Am I to
be chilled with the cold answer, which I have received so often, it is of no
ttse r the thing cannot be ? Oh ! if you will not say yes to my request, I
beseech you at least to pause before you say no, on such a ground : wait to
hear what I can say to prove that this reason is not good. And, observe,
I do not ask for much : one Hail Mary each day from every one, will this
be too much ? Can you not grant me this, even if I cannot assure you of
any immediate sensible return ? But I can offer you some recompense
already, and I hope in time I may he able to offer more. In the London
District, at least, the Right Rev. Dr. Wiseman, who is not, glory be to God,
one of those, who will not hope, has granted an indulgence of forty days
for every day that you say this Hail Mary, and forty days more - for
every day that you do anything to lead others to join. Will not this be
enough to recompense the trouble and time of saying the Hail Mary your-
self, and leading your children and your servants to join ? If not, I say
a^ain, only pause : at least do not set yourself against it, till I plead the
cause a little more at large, as with God's permission, I promise to do.
Meanwhile remember that you will be prayed for yourself, by the good Irish
Digitized by
Google
114 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
and French and others who pray for England ; and their prayer will prerail,
I trust, at length, no less to gain hope and charity for the Catholics of
England than faith for English Protestants.
I ana, dear Sir,
Your humble Servant in Jesus Christ,
Ignatius of St. Paul, Pasnonist.
Benedictine Convent, Winchester,
Feast of St. Gregory, Apostle of England, May nth, 1850.
Dbesbbd-up Figures of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To the Editor of the "Catholic Ijjlagazine and Register**
Sir. — Now that the month of Mary is so near, will you, Mr. Editor,
kindly atford me a comer in the ^'Magazine," which I rejoice to see alive again
and in strong health, to say a timely word against a practice which, though
it has shown itself in a very few places, I am sorry has appeared at ail
amongst us.
May is the fairest of all months : every mead is enamelled with the sweetest
flowers ; every bush is musical with the warbling of birds ; the heavens put
on their brightest blue. The thought then was a happy one of making this
blithe soft season the time for more than ordinary devotion towards that
flower of all created beings, the fair, the spotless, the sweet St. Mary,
Mother of God. While loving the Son, all true Catholics will revere her of
whom He vouchsafed to take flesh ; in worshipping Christ as their one,
their only Saviour, they will never fail to beg St. Mary to pray to Him for
them and alung with them ; and many a warm heart will be more than
usually busy in doing so all through the forthcoming month of May. To
encourage, mstead of hindering, such a devotion must be the object of all
well-wishers to our holy religion. Now, unfortunately, there are some who,
while they have the very best meaning, take the worst way possible to
express it, and such I deem to be the case with those — always young inex-
perienced men — among our clergy, who, in bringing forward the devotion of
the Month of Mary amid their people, must fain set up in their church a large
figure of our Lady, arrayed in all tne fripperv of a modern milliner's shop; in
other words, a large, staring, gaudily dressed doll. This doll is usually habited
in faded cast-off silks and muslins ; but though it were robed in satips and
velvets of the newest and the richest, it would not awaken devotion in any,
and actually does hinder it in some, and pains the feelings of not a fe\7
good Catholics : as for Protestants, it disgusts them. The kte Dr. Dibdin,
while describing Bayeux cathedral and the ceremony of ordination which he
witnessed there, says: — "When he (the bishop) descended with his full
robes, crosier, and mitre, from the high altar, methought I saw one of
the venerable forms of our Wykehams and Waynflbtes of old, com-
manding the respect and receiving the homage of a grateful congregation I
At the very moment my mind was deeply occupied by the effects produced
from this magnificent spectacle I strolled into Our Lady's Chapel, behind
the choir, and beheld a sight which converted seriousness into surprise,
bordering upon mirth. Above the altar of this remotely situated chapel
stands the Image of the Virgin, with the infant Jesus in her arms.
This is the usual chief ornament of our Lady's chapel. But what drapery
for the Mother of the sacred Child 1 stiff, starch, rectangularly-folded, white
muslin, stuck about with diverse artificial flowers, like unto a show figure
in Brook Green Fair. This ridiculous and most disgusting costume begaA
more particularly at Caudebec. Why is it persevered in ? Why is i*
endured i The French have a quick sensibility and lively apprehension of
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. lift
vhatis beautifdl and brilliant in the arts of sculpture and painting
but the terms 'joli,' 'gentil/ and 'propre' are made use of, like charity,
to 'cover a multitude of sins* or, aberrations from true taste. I
scarcely stopped a minute in this chapel," &c. — Dtbdins Tour in France
and Germany, i. 227.
Our youthful clerics, in defence of such figures and their muslin finery, argue
that they have seen them in the churches of Rome itself. True ; but in what
churches there ? In St. John Lateran's, in St. Peter's, in St. Mary Major's, in
the Pope's Chapels at the Vatican and Quirinal? Never. Though not always,
yet in most instances, these dressed-up figures of the Madonna are to be
found in those churches belonging either to nuDs» or to friars, and frequented
by the lower classes. In ecclesiastical ornament, as in other things, there
are two styles — the vulgar, and the refined ; the first childish, the latter
elevated and dignified. In Italy — in Rome, if you ask any well-educated
pious clergyman about these tawdry images, ten to one but he will say to
you that they are '' roba di frate— roba di monaca," — ^friars' stuff, nuns'
stuff.
There is nothing in the rubrics to warrant the use of such doll-like
figures. Let us hope that for the future our devotion may be no more
disturbed, Protestants' feelings no more be pained, and good taste no more
shocked by the presence in any of our churches or chapels of such extraor-
diniry figures. Dunstan.
CATHOLIC EDUCATION.
To the Editor of the '' Catholic Magazine and Register"
Sir.— That Catholic Poor Schools are not so generally supported as they
should be is a fact — an unhappy, but a certain fact. Why this supineness to
bestow knowledge upon the poor exists, it is difficult to say. That the Catholic
Faith is against this ignorance, we know ; but that many of the London
Catholics are neglectful of their poorer brethren, we while regretting, must
admit.
In a report of a School now before us, " The Islington Catholic Poor
Schools," — schools situated in a locality crowded with poor Catholics, and
alocalily abounding with rich sectarians of all denominations, who proselyte
largely bv means of children, we find, with regret, that the annual subscrip-
tions to these schools are but £59. 15s. 4d., and this of a congregation of
iipwards of two thousand Catholics. And how is this £59. 1 5s. 4d. raised ?
^ot by a two shilling subscription from the entire body, but by two sub-
scribers of £2. 2s. per annum, forty-one subscribers of £1., twenty of 10s.,
Bod five subscribers under that amount. Yes ; of two thousand people to
vbom the schools naturally look for support, si^cty-eight respond to the
appeal.
Ut us, in the first place, take a glance at the expenses of that school, and
we will not take into consideration a sum of £47. Us. expended for desks
&nd other charges, but confine ourselves to what must be paid. A master
and a mistress £60. per annum; coals, candles, and sundries, £14. 3s. 6d.;
hooks and printing to £8. 18s. Total annual expenditure, £83. Is. 6d..for
necessaries, absolute necessaries alone.
This is the annual expense, with no provision for wear and tear of build-
iiig. stoves, &c. What are the receipts? Just £59- 156. 4d.
How then is the deficiency obtained ? By lotteries and tea meetings —
things good enough in themselves, but not such as schoola should rely
wpon for support.
Digitized by
Google
116 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
It may be said, why the children pay ! Yes, they do pay. In the report
before as, we find that with an avera^^e of weekly attendance of 75 boys
and 60 girls, the receipts for school-fees (one penny per head) have been
£17. 8s. in one year, v
If the children's parents can't pay. Great Heaven I is it Catholicism to
refuse admission to their children ? to cast them in the street to become the
prey of thieves and sharpers ? to surrender them to the cares of Wesleyan
ministers, or Church of England teachers ? Are we to destroy souls in this
manner? Is a child not worth one penny per week to be damned by the
fault of its poverty, or the neglect of its parents ? Are we only to preach
and not to practise charity ? Is the exhortation of St. Paul to be thrown
away upon us ?
Connected with schools there is another matter calling for the Catholic's
strict attention. It is the establishment of a Clothing Fund with the schools,
from which fund clothes shall be given to the deserving and the diligent
poor. Now how stands the matter ? The child is without boots, without
coat or frock. The parents are too poor to provide these garments, llie
school has no funds. Dissenting men, blessed with wealth, step in — '* Send
your child to our school, we will teach it; send it to us, we will clothe
it ; send it to us, we will not interfere with its faith." The parent yields.
It wishes its child to be taken from the darkness that now surrounds it.
Parental solicitude longs for it to be clothed. The child goes amongst those
who are taught to laugh at the holiness of its creed, and the sanctity of our
Faith. It listens — It imbibes— It is but a child — It scoffs !
And all this, because a few shillings yearly are not spared by every family,
by every one of a family in the congregation.
The Catholic poor are, especially in London, the poorest of the poor;
their positions in life are such that, unless helped forward, they must ever
be dragged down. Wh^ are they to be debarred from the same aspiring
hopes as protesting bodies ) Why is a poor Catholic to be denied advan-
tages other poor people possess? I'here is nothing physically wrong in his
construction ; his tastes are the same. It is because exertion is not suffi-
ciently made, the blessings of education not bestowed upon him ; because
he, not nourished and supported, but left to grow or die, to bloom or not,
without a helping hand being extended to aid him.
Ignorant educated people say, " Oh, the poor man is well grounded in
his faith ; there is so much devotion amongst the poor ; they wiU never
swerve from the faith of their fathers ; they are so pious, so firm in their
belief."
And because they are so, the educated savage, for he is nothing better,
leaves them Catholics and leaves them to starvation. A vast number of
our poor can neither read nor write : who will now employ an errand bof
or a labourer who cannot do both ? If labour is denied them and they
thieve, the laws of their country and of their Church justly punish them :
but who is first to blame? Those who neglect to educate. This is no
state question, but purely a Catholic one. Knowledge is offered them from
other sources; they must either reject it and starve, or accept it and
renounce the faith of Christ.
The report of this Islington School is, we have but little doubt, but
the statement of many. How they raise money is, we fear, how all
obtain it. Those who can give will not; those who have it not cannot.
And yet where is the man or woman who cannot spare one shilling;
in three months? and eight thousand shillings would be an enormous
income for a Catholic Poor School. Earnestly, therefore. Sir, would we
fress upon the attention of every Catholic the necessity of supporting their
oor Schools. It is a duty they owe to their Saviour/ who " suffered little
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. . 117
children to come unto him." It is a du^ they owe to society, for to
edacate is, in reality, to prevent crime. It is a duty due to the faith
they profess, for by education is the strong arm of heresy beaten to the
dust. A duty due at once to cheir God, their Church, their neighbour.
Who will be backward in the work ?
The children must be taught, must be clothed ; the work of education
mast be undertaken ; for, in the words of the amiable and talented priest,
the Rev. F. Oakeley, whose address is prefixed to the Report before us : —
"A work truly it is, than which I (know none so worthy of a devoted and
enterprising zeal. A great work again and glorious, io stem the tide of
heresy and infidelity which is inundating our country, even though our
conversions to the faith be few and far between, instead of being, as in
primitive times, by thousands in a day. And yet let us not pursue even
this object, except secondary to the preservation of our Catholic children,
whose loss is not compensated in importance, or even in amount, by any
acceMions which Almighty God has hitherto granted us from the ranks of
Protestantism."
With these words of the Rev. Mr. Oakeley before us, we say to the Catholics
of London — educate, educate, educate. T. W. R.
ECCLESIASTICAL INTELLIGENCE.
GoRHAM V, THE B18HOP OF ExBTER. — The judgment in this important
appeal, which has been looked forward to with so much interest by the
public, was pronounced at two o'clock on Friday by the Judicial Committee
of Privy CounciL The members of the committee present were the Marquis
of Lansdowne, Lord Campbell, Lord Brougham, Lord Langdale, Dr. Lush-
ington, Mr. Pemberton Leigh, and Sir Edward Ryan. The Earl of Carlisle,
Lord Monteagle, Sir David Dundas, Mr. Labouchere, the Chevalier Bunsen,
Dr. Wiseman, and many other persons of distinction were seated within
the bar. There was also a considerable number of ladies present, and the
court room of the Privy Council never, perhaps, on any former occasion
S'esented a more crowded and animated appearance. None of the Protestant
ishops were present, but a great number of their Clergy, such as Messrs.
Dodsworth, "Wilberforce, Maspell, Denison, &c., &c.
Lord Langdale delivered the judgment. He began by stating that the
two Archbishops concurred in the judgment, but that the Bishop of London
did fiot concur. He then stated the history of the case, and the mode of
proceeding, which was objectionable, as it ought to have been by plea and
proof, so as to have brought out the doctrines of the parties. Mr. Gorham
had undergone a protracted examination from the Bishop of Exeter, in the
course of which, to a long series of questions, very cautious and guarded
answers had been given. However, the doctrine held by Mr. Gorham
appeared to be this — that Baptism is a Sacrament generally necessary to
salvation, but that the grace of regeneration does not so necessarily accom-
pany the act of Baptism that regeneration invariably takes place in Baptism;
thal^ without reference to the qualification of the recipient. Baptism is not
itself an effectual sign of grace, lliat infants baptised, and dying before
actual sin, are certainly saved, but that in no case is regeneration in Baptism
unconditional. The question which we have to decide is not whether these
opmions are theologically sound 'or unsound ; but whether they are contrary
or repugnant to the doctrines which the Church of England, by its Articles,
Formularies, and Rubrics, requires to be held by its Ministers, so that upon
the ground of those opinions the appellant can lawfully be excluded from
K
Digitized by
Gq^ogle
118 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
the benefice to which he has been presented. This opinion mast be decided
by the Articles and Liturgy ; and we must apply to the construction of
those books the same rules which have long been established^ and are by
law applicable to the construction of all written instruments. It appears,
that from the first dawn of the Reformation until the final settlement of the
Articles and Formularies, the Church was harassed by a great variety of
opinions respecting Baptism and many other matters. The Church, havinfi^
resolved to frame Articles of Faith* as a means of establishing consent
touching true religion, must be presumed to have desired to accomplish
that object as far as it could, and to have decided such of the questions then
under discussion as it was thought proper, prudent, and practicable to de-
cide ; but it could not have intendea to attempt rhe determination of all the
questions which had arisen or might arise : and in making the necessary
selection from those points which it was intended to decide, regard was had
to the points deemed most important to be made known to the members of
the Church, and to those questions upon which the members of the Church
could agree ; and that other points were left for future decision by compe-
tent authority, and, in the meantime, to the private judgment of piuua and
conscientious persons. Under such circumstances, it would perhaps have
been impossible to employ language which would not admit of some latitude
of interpretation : the possible or probable difference of interpretation may
have been designedly intended, even by the framers of the Articles them-
selves ; and in all cases in which Articles, considered as a test, admit of
different interpretations, it must be held, that any sense of which the words
fairly admit may be allowed, if that sense be not contradictory to something
which the Church has elsewhere allowed or required j and in such a case it
seems perfectly right to conclude, that those who impose the test, command
no more than the form of the words, employed in their literal and f^ram-
matical sense, conveys or implies ; and that those who agree to them are
entitled to such latitude or diversity of interpretation as the form admits.
If there be any doctrine on which the Articles are silent, or ambiguously ex-
pressed^ 80 as to be capable of two meanings, we must suppose that it was
intended to leave that doctrine to private judgment, unless the Rubrics and
Formularies clearly and distinctly decide it. If they do, we must conclude
that the doctrine so decided is the doctrine of the Church. But, on the
other hand, if the expressions used in the Rubrics and Formularies are ambi-
yuous, it is not to be concluded that the Church meant to establish indirectly
as a doctrine, that which it did not establish directly as such by the Articles
. of Faith — ^the code avowedly made for the avoiding of diversities of opinions,
and for the establishing of consent touching true religion. He proceeded,
therefore, to examine the Articles and Prayer-book, ** for the purpose of
discovering what it is, if anything, which, by the law of England, or the
doctrine of the Church of England as by law established, is declared as to
the matter now in question ; and to ascertain whether the doctrine held by
Mr. Gorham, as we understand it to be disclosed in his examination, is
directlv contrary or repugnant to the doctrine of the Church." Considering,
first, tne effect of the Articles alone, it is material to observe, that very dif-
ferent opinions as to the Sacrament of Baptism were held by different
promoters of the Reformation ; and that great alterations were made in the
Articles themselves upon that subject. The Articles about religion, drawn
up in 1536, state that infants ought, and must needs be baptised ; and, that
by the Sacrament of Baptism, they do also obtain remission of their sin,
and the ffrace and favour of God. Insomuch as infants and children dying
in their infEmcy shall undoubtedly be saved thereby, and else not. The
Articles of 1552 and 1562, adopt very different language from the Articles
of 1536, and have special regard to the qualification of worthy reception.
The Twenty-fifth Article of 1562 distinctly states, that in such only as wor-
Digitized by
Google
WLONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 119
thily receive tbe same, the sacraments have a wholesome effect or operation.
The Article on Baptism speaks onlv of those who received it rightly; and,
with respect to infants, instead ot saying, like the Articles of 1536, that
"they obtain remission of their sins by Baptism, and that, dying in their
infancy, they shall be undoubtedly saved thereby, and else not ;" it declares
only, ''that the Baptism of young children is in anywise to be retained in
the Church, as most afipreeable with the institution of Christ;" stating
nothing distinctly as to the state of such infants, whether baptised or not.
The Articles of 1536 had expressly determined two points. 1. That bap-
tised infants dying before the commission of actual sin were undoubtedly
saved thereby. 2. That unbaptised infants were not saved. The Articles
of 1562 say nothing expressly upon either point, but state in general terms
that those who receive Baptism rightly have the benefits there mentioned
conferred. What is signified by right reception is not determined by the
Articles. Mr. Gorham says that the expression always means a fit state to
receive — viz., in the case of adults, " with faith and repentance," and in the
case of infants, '* with God's grace and favour." On a consideration of the .
Articles, it appears that, besides this point, there are others which are left
undecided, it is not particularly declared what is the distinct meaning of
the grace of regeneration — whether it is a change of nature, a change of
condition, or a change of the relation subsisting between sinful man and his
Cnator. Upon the points left open, differences of opinion could not be
avoided ; and that such differences among such persons were thought con-
sistent with subscription to the Articles, and were not contemplated with
disapprobation, appears from the Royal declaration, now prefixed to the
Articles, and which was first added in the reign of King Charles I., long
after the Articles were finally settled.
He then proceeded to consider the case as affected by the formularies,
first observing that there were parts of the Prayer-book which were strictly
dogmatical, parts which were instructional, and parts which consisted of
devotional exercises and services. On the latter, he laid down this rule : — "It
seems to be properly said that the received formularies cannot be held to
be evidence of doctrine without reference to the distinct declarations of
doctrine in the Articles, and to the faith, hope, and charity by which
they profess to be inspired ; and there are portions of the Liturgy which
it is plain cannot be construed truly without regard to these consider-
ations." He instanced particularly the Burial Seivice, which expressed
"sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life," though it was
read over all who were not excommunicated. Some of them, clearly, might
have died impenitent. The assertion, therefore, in that formulary, could not
be unconditional ; and the other formularies, such as that of baptism, must
be construed on the same principle. In the office for the administration of
the public baptism of infants, first comes a prayer for the infant, that he
(being delivered from wrath) may be received into the ark of Christ's
Church ; another prayer, that the infant coming to God's holy baptism may
leceive remission of his sins by spiritual regeneration. Before the ceremony
is performed, the sponsors are questioned, and make their answers ; and then
comes the prayer, in which it is said, " Regard, we beseech Thee, the sup-
plications of this congregation ; sanctify this water to the mystical washing
away of sin; and grant that this child now to be baptised therein may
receive the fulness of Thy grace." Thus studiously in the introductory part
of the service, is prayer made for the grace of God. After the baptism has been
administered, the Priest is directed to say, "Seeing now that the child is rege-
nerate, and grafted into the Church, let us give thanks unto Almighty God
for these benefits :" and after repeating the Lord's Prayer, thanks are thus
given—*' We yield Thee hearty thanks, that it hath pleased Theeto regenerate
K 2
Digitized by
Google
120 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
this infant witb Thy Holy Spirit^ to receive him for Thine own child by
adoption, and to incorporate him into Thy Holy Cburch.''
In the case of private baptism; the Minister of the Parish is to inquire by
whom, with what matter, and with what words the child was baptised ; and,
if satisfied, he is to certify that all is well done ; and that the child, being:
bom in sin, is now, by the laver of rej^reneration in baptism, received into the
number of the children of God. The baptism just referred to is a baptism
which may haye taken place without any prayer for grace, or any sponsors ;
but it seems plainly to have been intended only for cases of emergency, in
which death might probably prevent the ceremony, if not immediately per-
fonned ; for such occasions, and the child dying, the Church holds the
baptism sufficient, and not to be repeated. One baptism for the remission
of sins is acknowledged by the Church ; nevertheless, if the child, which is
after this sort baptised, do afterwards live, the Rubric declares the expediency
of bringing it into the Church, and appoints a further ceremony, with
sponsors. The private baptism of infants is an exceptional case provided for
an emergency, and for which, if the emergency pass away, although there is
to be no repetition of the baptism, a full service is provided. The adult
person is not pronounced regenerate until he has first declared his faith and
repentance ; and before the act of infant baptism, the child is pledged by its
fiureties to the same conditions of faith and repentance. This view of the
baptismal service is, in our opinion, confirmed by the Catechism, in which,
although the respondent is made to state, that in his baptism he" was made
a member of Christ, the child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of
Heaven," it is still declared that repentance and faith are required of persons
to be baptised ; and when the question is asked, " Why, then, are infants
baptised, when, by reason* of their tender age, they cannot perform them?"
the answer is — not that infants are baptised because, by their innocence, they
cannot be unworthy recipients, or cannot present an obex or hindrance to the
grace of regeneration, and are therefore fit subjects for Divine grace— ^but
'* because they promise them both by their sureties, which promise, when
they come to age, themselves are bound to perform."
The answer has direct reference to the condition on which the benefit is
to depend. And the whole Catechism requires a charitable construction,
such as must be given to the expression-^" Uod the Holy Ghost, who sancti-
. fieth me and all the Elect people of God." The other formularies in the
Prayer-book abound with expressions which must be construed in a chari-
table and qualified sense, and cannot, with any appearance of reason, be
taken as proofs of doctrine. Our principal attention has been given to the
baptismal services; and those who are strongly impressed with the earnest
prayers which are offered for the Divine blessing, may not unreasonably
suppose that the grace is not necessarily tied to the rite ; but that it ought
to be earnestly prayed for, in order that it may then, or when God pleases,
be present to make the rite beneficial. There are other points of doctrine
respecting the sacrament of baptism which we are of opinion are, by the
Rubrics and formularies, as well as the Articles, capable of being honestly
understood in different senses; and, consecjuently, we think that, as to
them, the points which were left undetermined by the Articles are not
decided by the Rubrics and formularies ; and that upon these points all
Ministers of the Churchy having duly made the subscriptions required by law,
and taking the Holy Scriptures for their guide, are at liberty honestly to exercise
their private judgment without offence or censure. Upright and conscientioui
men cannot agree upon subjects so difficult ; and it must be carefully borne
in mind that the only question for us to decide, is whether Mr. Gorham's
doctrine is contrary or repugnant to the doctrine of the Church of England as
by law established F Mr. Gorham's doctrine may be contrary to the opinion
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 121
entertained bv many learned and piaus persons — contrary to tlie opinion which
such persons nave, by their own particular studies, deduced from the Holy Scrip*
tures, or from the usages and doctrines of the primitive Church — or contrary
to the opinion which they have deduced from certain expressions in the formu-
laries ; still, if the doctrine of Mr. Gorham is not contrary or repugnant to
the doctrine of the Church of England as by law established, it cannot afford
a legal ground for refusing him institution to the living to which he has been
law^Uy presented. This Court has no authority to settle matters of Faith,
or to determine what ought in any particular to be the doctrine of the Church
of England. Its duty extends only to the consideration of that which is
hy law established to be the doctrine of the Church of England, upon the
true and legal construction of her Articles and formularies ; and we consider
that it is not the duty of any Court to be minute and rigid in cases of thia
sort. We ag:ree with Sir Wm. Scott in the opinion which he expressed in
Stone's case, m the Consistory Court of London : — " That if any article is
leally a subject of dubious interpretation, it would be highly improper that
this Court should fix on one meaning, and prosecute all those who hold a con-
trary opinion regarding its interpretation." It appears that opinions, which
we cannot in any important particular distinguish from those entertained by
Mr. Gorham, have been maintained by many eminent divines who have
adorned the Church from the time when the Articles were first, without cen-
Bure or reproach, established. We do not affirm that the doctrines and
opinions of Jewell, Hooker, Usher, Jeremy Taylor, Whitgift, Pearson, Carl-
ton, Prideaux, and many others, can be received as evidence of the doctrine
of the Church of England ; but theur conduct, unquestioned as it was, proved
at least the liberty which has been allowed of maintaining such doctrine.
Bishop Jewell writes — "This marvellous conjunction, and incorporation with
God, is first begun and wrought by faith ; afterwards the same incorporation
is assured to us, and increased by baptism,^* Archbishop Usher, in reply to
the question : " What say you of infants baptised that are Dom in the Church !
Doth the inward grace in their baptism always attend the outward sign ?
Answer : Surely, no ; the Sacrament of Baptism is effectual only to those,
and to all those who belong to the election of grace." There was even a time
when doctrine to this effect was reouired to be studied in our Church ; and
Whitgift, by a circular issued in the year 1588, enforced an order whereby
every minister, under the degree of Master of Arts, was required to study
and take for his model the Decades of BuUinger, in which it is declared,
amongst numerous passages of a like tendency, ** The first beginning of our
uniting in fellowship with Christ is not wrought by the sacraments " — ^in bap-
tism that is sealed and confirmed to infants, which they had before. Hooker
Bays, '* The Church speaks of infants, as the rule of charity alloweth both to
Bpeak and to think." Bishop Pearson says, " When the means are used,
without something appearing to the contrary, we ought to presume of the
^ood effect/' And Bishop Prideaui^ says, " Baptism only pledges an
external and sacramental regeneration, while the Church in charity pro-
nounces that the Holy Spirit renders an inward regeneration.'' We express
no opinion upon the theological accuracy of these opinions, or any of them.
The writers whom we have cited are not always consistent with themselves,
and other writers worthy of great respect have published very different
opinions. But the mere fact that such opinions have been propounded by
persons so eminent, as well as by very many others, appears to us sufficiently
to prove that the libertv which was left by the Articles and formularies has
been actually exercisea by the members and ministers of the Church of
EnKland. The case not requiring it, we have abstained from expressing any
opinion of our own upon the theological correctness or error of the doctrine
of Mr. Gorham, which was discussed before us at such great length, and with
Digitized by
Google
122 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
80 much learning. His Honour the Vioe-Chancellor Knight Bruce dissents
from the opinion we have formed ; but all the other members of the judicial
committee who were present are unanimously agreed in opinion that the
doctrine held by Mr. Gorham is not contrary or repugnant to the declared
doctrine of the Church of England as by law establtshedf and that Mr. Gor-
ham ought not, by reason of the doctrine held by him, to have been refused
admission to the vicarage of Brampford Speke. And we shall, therefore,
humbly report to her Majesty that the sentence pronounced by the learned
judge in the Arches Court of Canterbury ou^ht to be reversed, and that it
ought /to be declared that the Lord Bishop of Exeter has not shown suffi-
cient cause why he did not institute Mr. Gorham in the said vicarage. We
shall, therefore, humbly advise her Majesty to remit the cause with that
declaration to the Arches Court of Canterbury, to the end that right and
justice may there be done in this matter, pursuant to the said declaration.
The Gorham Case. — ^The following protests were read In the vestry of
the parish church of East Brent, in the presence of the churchwardens and
other witnesses, and copies delivered to the churchwardens, and transmitted
to the bishop on Sunday last. Mr. Denison is brother to the Bishop of
Salisbury.
" In the name of the most Holy Trinity. — Amen.
''Whereas the Universal Church alone possesses, by the commission and
command of its Divine Founder, the power of defining in matter of doc-
trine ; and subject to the same, the Church of England alone possesses,
within its sphere, the power of interpreting and declaring the intention of
such definitions as the Universal Church has framed ; —
'*And whereas a power to interpret formularies of the Church by a final
judicial sentence, the synods of the Church not being, in practice, admitted
to declare the doctrine of the Church, becomes in effect a power to declare
and make such interpretations binding upon the Church : —
"And whereas by the suit of ' Gorham v, the Bishop of Exeter/ as well
as by the case of 'Escott v, Mastin,' in the year 1842, it appears that the
Crown, through a Court constituted by Act of Parliament alone, claims
and exercises a power to confirm, reverse, or vary, by a final judicial
sentence the decisions and interpretations of the Courts of the Church in
matters of doctrine ; —
"And whereas in the present state of the law nothing hinders but that
an interpretation which shall have been judged to be unsound by the
Courts of the Church may be finally declared to be sound by the said
Judicial Committee; or that a person who shall have been judged to be
unfit for cure of souls by the spiritual tribunal may be declared to be fit for
cure of souls by the civil power ; —
** And whereas the existence of such state of the law cannot be reconciled
with the Divine constitution and office of the Church, and is contrary to
the law of Christ ; —
"And whereas the exercise of power in such matters, under such state
of the law, endangers the public maintenance of the faith of Christ ; —
"And whereas the existence of such a state of things is a grievance of
conscience ; —
" And whereas no judgment pronounced by the Judicial Committee of
Privy Council, in respect of matters of doctrine, can be accepted by the
Church ; —
" I, George Anthony Denison, clerk, M.A., vicar of East Brent, in the
county of Somerset, and diocese of Bath and Weils, do herebv enter my
solemn protest against the state of the law which empowers tne Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council to take cognizance of matters of doctrine,
and against the exercise of that power by the said Judicial Committee in
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 123
each particular case; and I do hereby pledge myself to use all lawful means
within my reach to prevent the continuance of such state of the law, and
of the power claimed and exercised under the same,
(Signed) ''Georgb Anthony Denison.
"East Brent, 4th Sunday in Lent, March 10, 1860."
•' In the name of the most Holy Trinity. — Amen.
'* I. Whereas the Church of England is a branch of the One Catholic and
Apostolic Church, and, in virtue thereof, holds, absolutely and exclusively,
all the doctrines of the Catholic faith ; —
" 2. And whereas George Cornelius Gorham, clerk, B.D., priest of the
Church of England, has formally denied the Catholic faith in respect of the
holy sacrament of Baptism ; —
" And whereas the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has in the
case of 'Gorham v, the Bishop of Exeter' reversed the judgment of the
Church Court, and has pronounced by final sentence the said George Cor-
nelias Gorham to be fit to be instituted by the Bishop to a benefice with
cure of souls : —
"And whereas such sentence is necessarily false; —
"And whereas such sentence gives public legal sanction to the teaching
of false doctrine, and therein and thereby has a great and manifest tendency
to lead into error of doctrine, or to encourage to persevere in error of doc-
trine, or to plunge finally into heresy all such as are tempted, in one degree or
another, to deny the faith of Christ in respect of the holy sacrament of
Baptism.
" And whereas such sentence does injury and dishonour to Christ and
to his holy Church ; —
"And whereas all who, with a full knowledge of the intent, meaning,
and purpose of such sentence, are or shall be concerned in promulgating
or executing it, and all who, with a like knowledge, shall approve of
or acquiesce in it, are or will be involved in heresy; —
"And whereas it has become necessary, in consequence of such sentence,
that the Church of England should free herself from any participation in
the guilt thereof by proceeding, without delay, to make some further formal
declaration in respect of the holy sacrament of Baptism ; —
" I, George Anthony Denison, clerk, M.A., vicar of East Brent, in the
county of Somerset, in the diocese of Bath and Wells, do hereby enter my
solemn protest against the said sentence of the Judicial Committee of the
Privy Council, and do warn all the Christian people of this parish to beware
of allowing themselves to be moved or influenced thereby in the least
deg[ree ; and I do also hereby pledge myself to use all lawful means within
Mj reach to assist in obtaining, without delay, some further formal declara-
tion, by a lawful synod of the Church of England, as to what is, and what
is not, the doctrine of the Church of England in respect of the holy sacra-
ment of Baptism.
(Signed) ''George Anthony Denison.
" East Brent, 4th Sunday in Lent, March 10, 1860."
We copy from the " Times," of the 20th March, the following
Resolutions.
1. That whatever at the present time be the force of the sentence delivered
on appeal in the case of ** Gorham v. the Bishop of Exeter," the Church
of England will eventually be bound by the said sentence, unless it shall
openly and expressly reject the erroneous doctrine sanctioned thereby.
Digitized by
Google
124 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
2. That the remission of original sin to all infants in, and by the grace of,
baptism is an essential part of the article, " One baptism for the remission
of sins." ,
3. That — to omit other questions raised by the said sentence — such sen-
tence, while it does not deny the liberty of holding that article in the sense
heretpfore received, does equally sanction the assertion that original sin is a
bar to the right reception of baptism, and is not remitted except when God
bestows regeneration beforehand by an act of prevenient grace (whereof
Holy Scripture and the Church are wholly silent), thereby rendering the
benefits of holy baptism altogether uncertain and precarious.
4. That to admit the lawfulness of holding an exposition of an article of the
creed contradictory of the essential meaning of that article is, in truth and
in fact, to abandon that article.
5. That, inasmuch as the faith is one, and rests upon one principle of
authority, the conscious, deliberate, and wilful abandonment of the essential
meaning of an article of the creed destroys the divine foundation upon which
alone the entire faith is propounded by the Church.
6. That any portion of the Church which does so abandon the essential
meaning of an article of the creed forfeits not only the Catholic doctrine m
that article, but also the office and authority to witness and teach as a mem-
ber of the universal Church.
7. That by such conscious, wilful, and deliberate act such portion of the
Church becomes formally separated from the Catholic body, and can no
longer assure to its members the grace of the sacraments and the remission
of sins.
8. That all measures consistent with the present legal position of the
Church ought to be taken without delay to obtain an authoritative declaration
by the Church of the doctrine of holy baptism impugned by the recent sen-
tence ; as, for instance, by praying license for the Church in Convocation
to declare that doctrine, or by obtaining an act of Parliament to give legal
effect to the decisions of the collective Episcopate on this and all other
matters purely spiritual.
9. That, failing such measures, all efforts must be made to obtain from
the said Episcopate, acting only in its spiritual character, a re-afi^mation of
the doctrine of holy baptism impugned by the said sentence.
H. E. Manning, M A., Archdeacon of Chichester.
Robert J. Wilberforcb, M.A., Archdeacon of the East Riding.
Thomas Thorp, B.D., Archdeacon of Bristol.
W. H. Mill, D.D., Regius Professor of Hebrew, Cambridge.
E. B. PusEY, D.D., Regius Professor of Hebrew, Oxford.
John Keble, M.A., Vicar of Hursley.
W. DoDSWORTH, M.A., Perpetual Curate of Christ Church, St. Pancras.
William J,E.BENNETT,M.A.,PerpetualCurate6fSt.Paurs,Knightsbridge.
Henry William Wilberforce, M.A., Vicar of East Farleigh.
Richard Cavendish, M.A.
Edward Badeley, M.A., Barrister-at-Law.
James R. Hope, D.C.L., Barrister-at-Law.
The Archdeacon of Barnstaple has published a circular to his clergy from
which we extract the following passage : — " The Judicial Committee of Privy
Council, in their recent judgment, affirmed the principle with which we are
all familiar, that they ' nad no jurisdiction or authority to settle matters of
faith, or to determine what ought, in any particular, to be the doctrine of
the Church of England.' But, professing to be guided by this principle,
they, nevertheless, judged it to be within their province to ascertain the true
meaning and effect of the Articles, Formularies, and Rubrics of the Church
of England^ and thereby to determine and define what is, or is not^ the doc-
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 126
trine she holds; or rather to assert that, in their opiiiion, the Church of
England has in Baptism no certain doctrine at al4. In coming^ to this con-
clusion the Judicial Committee have virtually exercised that authority in
controversies of faith, which the Church of England in her Articles declares
to be vested in the Church alone."
The following reply has heen returned by the Lord Bishop of Exeter, to
the address presented from the London Church Union, as published in the
GttardUm : —
27 f Conduit-street, March, 14, 1850
''My Dear Dr. Spry. — ^The address which you and other eminent Clergy-
men and laymen of the Church have had the goodness to present to me, fills me
with feelings of a very mixed character. I cannot but be supported and
strengthened by the sympathy of such men ; but I am far more humbled by
the terms of eulogv in which that sympathy is expressed. May He, who
is sight to the blind, and strength to the weakest, grant to me, and to all,
that we may, in this our day of trial, act with faithfulnesf, with firmness, with
singleness of heart, seeking only to serve Him, and to guard the sacred
deposit of truth which He has entrusted to us.
" It seems but too likely that we are as yet only in the commencement of
tbs fight of faith appointed to us. Let us strive by prayer, and in humble
Teliance on the grace of God, to attain to a right judgment in all things con-
nected with our several duties in all that may befal us. Let us be sober —
be vigilant, and, more especially, let us use our utmost endeavours to stay
the impetuous spirit of those who may be tempted, in this her need, to desert
the Church in which they were in baptism made members of Christ, and in
which that Holy Spirit of whom we were then born still dwells, and, we cannot
doubt, will continue to dwell, so long as that Church shall not, by some act
of her own — ^which, thanks be to God, hath not yet happened — or by a
torpid indifference, more fatal and more hopeless than any act, accept the
unhallowed judgment of men, be they who they may, in contradiction to
God's truth — and so cut herself oflF from that Holy Catholic and Apostolic
Church of which she is still a pure and sound, however wounded, member.
" In conclusion, accept my hearty congratulation on the Christian firmness
of your own bishop.
" I am, my dear Dr. Spry, with the warmest thankfulness to yourself, and
to the Churchmen who have acted with you on this ocoasion, your and their
faithful and affectionate brother in Christ, H. Exeter.
"TheRev. Dr. Spry."
It is stated that in the event of the Bishop of Exeter declining to institute
Mr. Gorham, the Archhishop . will perform the duty by holding a special
yisitation in the diocese, in his capacity as metropolitan.
CONVERSIONS.
On the nth March, Miss Gabrielle Jervis, the daughter of Swynfen
Jervis, Esq., of Darlaston Hall, near Stone, Staffordshire, publicly abjured
the Protestant religion, and made a profession of her faith in the doctrines
of the Catholic Church, at the chapel attached to Swynnerton Hall, the
seat of Thomas FitzHerbert, Esq.
We have to record the conversion of Nathaniel Goldsmid, Esq.t who
was received into the Catholic Church at Paris, a few days ago.
On Sunday, the 10th instant, Mrs. Wootton, widow of the late John
Wootton, M.D., of Oxford, made a public profession of Catholic faith, in
the church there. She had been for some years a penitent of Dr. Pusey.
Digitized by
Google
126 MONTHLT INTELU&KlKnB.
Pbrvejistons from trs CBxmcH OP England. — ^The Rev. Francis
Balaton, M. A., student of Christ Church, Oxford, and perpetual curate of
Bensington, Oxford ; tof^ether with his curate, the Rev. William Scratton,
MJL, also student of Christ Church College, have seceded from the ministry
of the Anglican Church and retired from Bensington. — Church and State
Gazette.
FOREIGN.
Thb Papal States. — ^The " Univers " has the following : — '* Some jour-
nals mention disastrous news which is said to have arrived from Portici, and
letters in which an indisposition or even a malady is spoken of, which may
place the life of the Sovereign Pontiff in danger. We have received letters
from Portici of the 9th inst., and we do not think that any one can have any
account of a more recent date, or from a surer source, lliere is no men-
tion in these letters of any indisposition or disease of the Sovereign Pontiff;
they, on the contrary, lead us to suppose that the health of the Pope con-
tinues to be very good, since they speak of the departure of Pius IX. as
being irrevocably decided on. We read in them the following : — * Cardinal
Antonelli has made known to M. de Rayneval that the Holy Father had
resolved to leave for Rome in the beginning of April, and that that resolution
was about to be communicated officially to the diplomatic corps. France
has, therefore, satisfaction on this point. France, besides, requested that the
Holy Father should go to Rome by sea, in order to be escorted thither by
the French fleet, but different reasons cause a preference for the land route.
A middle course will perhaps be adopted, by his going in the first place to
Terracina under the escort of the French ships. Up to the present time the
Holy Father has come to no decision on the subject, and it is the only point
which remains to be settled/ "
Our correspondent at Rome, in his letter of the 14th, seems to consider
the Pope's return as at last decided on, and he gives several reasons which
induce him to place credit in the report.
The Supreme Pontiff proposed leaving Portici on the 7th or 10th of
•April.
France : The Irish College in Paris. — ^The following is from the
" Union Quotidienne : " — " There exists in Paris an admirable, but hardly-
noticed institution, whose venerable existence we may reveal to those who
fancy that the ancient past has left no trace amongst us. We allude to the
L-ish College,- an establishment analogous to the colleges formerly founded
and endowed by the Church, or by rich benefactors in her name. In '89i
there were still remaining splendid relics of these educational foundations;
the College Mazarin, the College de Lisieux, d*Harcourt — in fact, twenty-
six houses in full work, rivalling the ten great colleges of the State. The
Revolution destroyed all at one blow, in the name of liberty and illumination.
The Irish College escaped this Vandalism with some difficulty and peril ; it
was a foreign foundation, and the spoilers contented themselves with acts
of persecution. This institution has not ceased to fulfil the object of its
founders ; it educates 200 Irish ecclesiastics, and it is there, in great part,
that that admirable soldiery is recruited, which, for two centuries past, has
maintained the faith and patience of that Catholic people a singular model
of heroism in the history of the Church. Since I8l4, the house has bad
several highly-distinguished Superiors ; the Abb^ Walsh, Mr. Ferris, the
Abb^ Long, Dean Ryan, the Abb^ Carney, and the Abb^ M'Sweeny (just
retired, and succeeded by the Very Rev. Dr. Miley), the last- mentioned
ecclesiastic having discharged the functions of Superior for twenty-two years,
to the great satisfaction of the Bishops of Ireland, and also of the French
Government, which exercises over the house a certain right of patronage.
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 127
regulated in 1 801 by a Consular decree. He is regarded as one of the oma*
nents of the Irish Church. In honouring the services rendered by the Irish
Collef^, mm have naturally occasion to remind France what would education
be, if it were brouf^ht back to the ancient condition of the universities and
the colleges, which quietly bronglit up youth, and formed them to science
and virtue. The Irish College is an example we joyfully qaoto to thaw
persons who pursue the liberty of education, not as a theory, but as a reality.
Good is done in retired places, yet gratitude is never wanting to masters like
these; for them, it is all their glory."
PARLIAMENTARY RECORD.
THE FLORINS.
Mr. Shibl was understood to state that the issue of the florins had not
been countermanded at all. The reason why no issue of any further portion
of the coinage took place was, that a complaint had been made of the omis-
sion of certain words on the coin, which he at once frankly declared ought
to have been put on. He had been directed by the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer to inscribe on the reverse of the new coin the words — " One florin —
1-lOth of a pound." As these words, in addition to the usual inscription,
would make the coin greatly crowded, it occurred to him that it would be
enough to stamp the border with merely the words " Victoria Regina," as
in the copper coinage of India. He had, therefore, taken upon him to dis-
encumber the face of the coin, and to direct that omission of the words
** Fidei Defensor — Dei gratid " which had been detected by the microscopic
{(lance of the honourable member opposite. As a prooi that he was not
influenced by those fanatical feelings which had been ascribed to him by
those who did not know him — (hear, hear) — he might make mention of the
fact, that when he first came into office he caused to be issued a coinage of
56.-pieces, on which the words " Fidei Defensor" were engraved , however
incongruous he might have thought it that Queen Victoria should retain a
title conferred on Henry VIII. by a Bull of the Pope. (Cheers and laughter.)
He might as well frankly state what were his sentiments with respect to the
words ** Fidei Defensor,'* " Dei gratid.'' With respect to the first, he could
only say he regarded our Sovereign as the head of the Protestant religion,
and he hoped the title to the appellation would never be destroyed. (Cheers.)
As to the words V Dei Gratid," he thought the Sovereign who reigned over
them was adorned with so many virtues as to be indeed the gift of God, and
he trusted she might long be spared to them by His favour. (Loud cheers.)
llTH March. — oath op supremacy.
Lord Brougham then presented a petition from two noble members
of their Lordships' house, the Earl of Clancarty and the Earl of Bradford,
They stated that they were entitled to, and had long ciyoyed and exer-
cised, the right of sitting and voting in their Lordships' house; but
that they were excluded from taking their seats in the present Parliament
by conscientious scruples, which prevented them from taking the oath of
supremacy required to be taken by all parties who were not Roman Catholics
previously to their taking their seats. They said that the language of the
oath was inconsistent with the fact, and that they could not swear " that uo
foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or potentate, hath, or ought to have,
any jurisdiction, power, superiority, pre-eminence, or authority, ecclesiastical
or spirituaJ, within this realm." They did not object to the words "ought
to have," but they did to the word '* hath ;" for they stated that by an act
Digitized by
Google
128 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
passed in a late session of Parliament, and generally entitled the Charitable
Trusts (Ireland) Act, the existence and constitution of tlie Church of Rome
was legally recof^nised within these islands. They therefore called upon
their Lordships for relief.
The Earl of Mountcashel was convinced that if the terms of this
oath were not altered in the present session many other peers would feel
themselves excluded from their seats by the impossibility of subscribinj^ to
them. He therefore hoped that Her Majesty's Ministers would give their
Lordships a pledge that the terms of this oath should be altered before the
close of the present session.
The petition was laid on the table.
18th March. — Protest op the Rev. Mr. Dbnison.
Mr. Hume asked what notice Her Majesty's Government intended to
take of the protest of Mr. Denison, published in all the papers, impugning
the judgment of Her Majesty's Council in the case of •* Gorham v, the
Bishop of Exeter/' and denying the supremacy of the Cro\vn as the head
of the Established Church ? The hon. member then read the protest of the
Rev. Mr. Denison, which appeared in the Times of the 1 5th inst.
Lord J. Russell. — I think it is just to Mr. Denison that I should read
to the house a statement which he has sent to me this morning, and which
professes to be a statement of his opinion as regards the supremacy of the
Crown in connexion with this case. The statement is as follows : —
'* I have not denied, and do not deny, that the Queen's Majesty is supreme
governor of this church and realm, and is, in virtue thereof, supreme over
all causes ecclesiastical and civil, judging in causes spiritual by the judges of
the spirituality, and in causes temporal by temporal judges, as enacted by
the statute 24th of Henry VI iL, c. 12 ; and I have not impeached, and do
not impeach, any part of the regal supremacy as set forth in the second
canon and in the 37th article of our Church ; but I humbly conceive that
the constitution does not attribute to the Crown, without a synod lawfully
assembled, the right of deciding a question of doctrine; and this, although
disclaimed by the Lords of the Judicial Committee of Her Majesty's Pnvy
Council, is what, as appears to me, has been done, indirectly inaeed, but
unequivocally, in the late case of * Gorham v. the Bishop of Exeter.'
^'George Anthony Denison.
''March 18, 1850."
Now, I entertain no fear in saying that I think Mr. Denison is entirely mis-
taken in his opinion on this subject, and that the judgment given hj the
Lords of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is entirely within their
jurisdiction, and was such as they were fully authorized by law to give. I
believe, likewise, that that decision has given very general satisfaction.
(Hear, Hear.) But, as the hon. gentleman has asked me further, what
notice the Government intend to take of the protest of Mr. Denison, I
answer that, although it may appear hereafter necessary, from measures that
may betaken by others against Mr. Denison, that steps should also be taken by
the Government, — guarding myself to this extent, — yet I at present say
that I should be most reluctant to take any steps against a man who con-
ceived that he was only giving a conscientious expression of what he
considered to be a true view with regard to the powers of the church. I
think any steps taken on the part of the Government under such circum-
stances would tend still further to disturb the harmony of the church. It
may be said that in this instance the authority of the Privy Council was
denied, and that it was asserted the Council had no power to alter the law
as laid down by the ecclesiastical judge ; but, however that may be, as at
present advised, the Government do not intend to take any steps with
regard to the protest of Mr. Denison. (Hear, hear.)
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 129
MISCELLANEOUS.
Michael Angklo's "Last Judgment." — Messrs. Pownall and Pro-
theroe, of Austinfriars, have received from Leghorn a work of art which is
likely to create much sensation. This work is a drawing in oil [chiaro
otcuro) of the world-famous '* Last Judgment," painted in fresco by Michael
Angelo, in the Sistine Chapel, at Rome. The painting in the chapel is hii
feet by 43, the drawing is 5i by 4i, that is to say, a tenth part of the size.
Through the medium of engravings this most terrible and elaborate com-
position, which embraces every variety of form and attitude, every manifes-
tation of feeling, from the most joyous rapture to the most intense agony,
moral and physical, is perfectly familiar to all who take any interest in art.
But the drawing now in London has peculiarities which claim a degree of
attention beyond that which could be accorded to a mere ordinary copy.
It is, in fact, not a copy, for although the general character of the grouping
and the greater number of the figures are.to be found both in the drawing
and the fresco, there are certain important differences of detail, which show
that the former could not have been taken from the latter. In the first
place, the figures in the drawing are nude, whereas those in the chapel
are covered with drapery. They were not originally so painted, but the
drapery was added by order of Fope Paul IV« A sun ana moon are to be
found in the drawing which are not in the print in Duppa's " Life of
Michael Angelo,*' nor in that by Martin Rota. The diabolical figure to
the right of the foreground, which is generally known by the name of
"Minos," but is by some called "Midas," has a full face in the drawing,
but a side face in the prints which follow the fresco in the chapel. The
iigure of St. Bartholomew in the prints holds out the skin both of his
arms and legs, but in the drawing only that of the former is seen. Another
important difference is the insertion of a falling Pope in the fresco, which does
not appear in the drawings Of all these differences, that between the nude and
draped condition of the figures is probably of the least consequence, inasmuch
as Rota's print represents the condition of the work in the chapel before the
draperies vrere added. This might have furnished a subject for a copyist,
but the introduction and omission of figures and essential variations of atti-
tude show that the origin of the drawing must be sought elsewhere. In a
word the question is, whether the drawing now in the possession of Messrs.
Pownall and Protheroe is the original design made by Michael Angelo him-
self for his fresco, and whether tfie variations in the larger work are to be
looked upon as after-thoughts. The decision of this all- important point we
leave to the judgment of Connoisseurs. — Times,
Exhibition of Works of Ancient and Medijsyal Art. — ^The
Boyal Society of Arts have formed in their rooms in the Adelphi a collection
of works of ancient and mediaeval art, which must attract for some time to
come a very large share of pubUc curiosity and interest. Of the metal
works ornamented in niello, we may direct the notice of the visitor to a port-
able altar, formed of a slab of jasper on a basis of wood, and mounted in
silver. This is an Italian production of the 13th century, and belongs to
the Rev. Dr. Rock.
The Most Rev. Dr. M'Gettigan, Bishop of Raphoe, has given up his dwell-
ing, which cost him £2,000, to the Sisters of the Lady of Mercy. — Freeman,
Confirmation of two thousand Children and Adults in
THB Church of St. Nicholas, Francis- street, Dublin.— lliis
noble church was, on Tuesday last, the scene of a deeply interesting spec-
tacle— the administration of the Sacrament of Confirmation to 2,000 persons,
by his Grace the Most Rev. Dr. Murray, assisted by several priests. The
ceremonies opened with a solemn high mass, at 1 1 o'clock, at which the
candidates for confirmation aBsisted. — Freeman's Journal.
Digitized by
Google
130 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
The handsome new Convent of the Sisters of Mercy, at Newcastle, will
be occupied by the Sisterhood the week after Easter. — Limerick Chronicle.
KiLRUSH. — ^Thrbb Hundred Cases of Starvation. — A correspon-
dent of the Limerick Examiner gives a fearful account of the misery
prevailing among the poor of this district since the abrupt cessation of
out-door relief. He describes also the state of the workhouse paupers,
subsisting on half rations, and suffering incredible privations. He adds
— ** 1 have treated thus far of the ordinary paupers, who, you have already
beard, were for weeks without milk or fire, but I have now to refer to the
most heartrending part of my subject. I had heard that a number of
people were dying of inanition in the infirmary, or to speak more plainly,
of starvation. I at once visited the building, and found there amongst the
sufferers the Rev. Mr. Moran, preparing the dying poor for, I trust, a
happier and a better world. The number of patients amounted to 300
young, old, and middle aged ; you will ask what was their ailment ; I will
tell you, simply starvation. Never, while I live, will the impression of that
day leave my mind. ' Merciful God ! ' said I to the Rev. Mr. Moran, * is it
possible a human body can exist when thus skeletonised ? ' He replied,
tiiat he, too, at one time thought it impossible, but that the sights he had
lately witnessed since the reliS was cut off changed his opinion. To de-
scribe minutely these 300 starvlings is a task I am unable to undertake.
One characteristic, however, seemed to attach to them all — idiotcy. It was
depicted in their fleshless features. They all lay motionless ; some bread
was placed near them, but few could partake of it, so enfeebled and exhausted
were they. As the priest approached, they seemed to feel that his divine
ministry was the last plank left them. I have seen death in every shape —
I have witnessed several executions from time to time — but I protest most
solemnly I would rather witness a thousand such executions than again
pass through the infirmary of the Kilrush workhouse. The skin of some
was livid, that of others seemed as if they had been struck with lightning.
The clergvman and doctor agreed in stating, that of the 300 starved creatures
150 should necessarily die; that no human skill could restore them; and
that the sooner their agony was over the better for them. The best illus-
tration I can give is the fact that I actually fancied a parcel of women over
twenty years of age to be little girls. ' How long,* said I, 'are those children
here?' 'Children, Sir/ said the Rev. Mr. Moran, 'they are women, or
at least they have been so; what they are now I cannot tell you.' It is
indeed painful to draw such a picture, yet it would be cruel to conceal so
terrible an illustration as those people presented of the ruin that has been
caused by heartless indifference to the wants of the suffering poor. In
one of the wards I noticed a large number of yoimg children sitting on
forms, and what particularly attracted my notice was the number that fitted
on each form. No wonder— they had no flesh on their bones. Children,
even in poverty, are ffenerally, when together, prone to conversation ; but I
was informed that uiey would sit as they then sat for hours, without
exchanging a word. I should have told you that these people had been
refused outdoor relief, and had, from day to day, been put off on the most
frivolous pretences, until all physical power was exhausted. One old man,
who had subsisted for four days on a halfpenny worth of bread, was
actually brought to the workhouse in a state of nudity, covered up in hay.
I shall never, never forget the peculiar expression of his countenance — I
never before witnessed such a sight. As for the little children, they seemed
to me to be all idiotic, stunted in their growth, and bearing as close a
resemblance as possible to unfledged birds. There they sat, listless and
insensible, and seemed to be quite indifferent to every thing passing around
them; the faces of some quite yellow, those of others dark, as if even
before death decomposition were set in."
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE 131
Archbs Court, Saturday, March 23.— (Before Sir H. J. Fust.) —
Connelly v, Connelly. — Sir H. J. Fust delivered judj^ment. This was a suit,
said the learned Jud^e, for the restitution of conjugal rights. It was pro-
moted by the Rev. Pierce Connelly, of Albury, in the county of Surrey,
against his wife, Mrs. Cornelia Augusta Connelly, of Hastings. It pleaded,
in substance, that the parties were married on the 1st of December, 1831, in
the city of Philadelphia, Mr. Connelly being at that time a clergyman of the
Episcopal Church of America. Five children were born, three of whom are
now living, and the parties continued to cohabit together until October, 1847,
when Mrs. Connelly left tier husband, and had ever since lived separate and
apart from him. It was allefi^ed that, in 1836, Mr. and Mrs. Connelly visited
Rome, and, abjuring the Protestant faith, were received into the Roman
Catholic Church. Mr. Connelly subsequently took holy orders in that Church,
and Mrs. Connelly became the superioress of a community of religious women
founded by her at Derby, and afterwards removed to Hastings, both parties
liaving previously taken a solemn vow of perpetual chastity. In December,
1847, Mrs. Connelly took the vows of poverty and obedience, her husband
having given his assent, but afterwards protested against it, on the ground
that he was responsible for any debts she might contract. In January. 1848,
Mr. Connelly went to Hastings, where he demanded an interview with his
wife, who declined to see him, whereupon the present proceedings were in-*
Btituted. The law as applicable to the circumstances was pleaded by
Mrs. Connelly, in the following terms : — ** The following are rules of tba
Roman Catholic Church applicable to the question at issue between the par-
ties in this cause, derived from and regulated by its written laws and canons
in that behalf, and of which the principal are to be found in the Decretals^
liber 3, title 32, De conversione Conjugatorum, to wit, first that a husband
and wife, post matrimonium consummatum may lawfully separate by mutual
consent, in order that they may enter into religion severally, to wit, by the
husband taking holy orders and the wife making a vow of perpetual chasti^
and entering a religious house, or there being professed and taking the veil.
Secondly, that a separation founded on such mutual consent and for such
purpose, though not annulling such matrimonium consummatum, debars thet
parties in perpetuum ah omni usu ejusdem, and from that time forth alter
alteram repetere nan potest. Thirdly, that a separation of husband and wife
by mutual consent for such views and objects as aforesaid must be approved
and allowed by the Pope, and his rescript of such approval and allowance,
upon the ordination of the husband and the vow or religious profession of
the wife has all the force of a judicial sentence." Admitting such to be the
law by which the Roman Catholic subjects of Rome were governed, what
was the effect of it as applicable to American subjects being Protestants at
the time of marriage, and afterwards abjuring that faith, and being admitted
members of the Iloman Catholic Church, the husband taking orders in that
Church ? In order to make that law binding in this country it must be
shown that it had been received here. In questions of marriage contract the
lex loci contractus was that which was to determine the status of the parties,
but it was not known, that those laws which were applicable to a particular state,
and were not part of the jus gentium, were necessarily taken notice of by other
countries. It was not sufficient, therefore, to say that the law of Rome had de-
cided so and so; it must be shown that the law of Rome for that purpose was the
law of this country. The court must not look to the law of Rome, nor to the law
of theUnited States of America, but to the law of England for the rights, obliga-
tions, and duties which proceeded from the relation of husband and wife. Even
when the Roman Catholic religion prevailed in England it was quite clear that
foreign professions were not regarded in this country. What was the law
of this country with respect to the rights, duties, and obligations arising
from the contraction of marriage ? One obligation undoubtedly was the
Digitized by
Google
132 MONTHLY INTELLIGKNCK.
cobabitation of the parties. The law would not permit them voluntarily to
separate themselves from each other. Separation could only be eifected by
a judicial sentence. What was the distinction attempted to be made in the
present case ? It was said the parties were bound by a vow of perpetual
chastity ; but they were not on that account entitled to separate themselves
from each other. Indeed, it appeared that they had resided together in the
same house for a eonsiderable period after that vow had been taken. He
(the learned judge) was not at Uberty to attend to those municipal and pecu-
liar regulations, which were only binding upon the subjects of Kome resident
in the territories of that country, or in those countries where its laws were
respected and treated as part of the laws of the state. That which was
pleaded to be tantamount to a sentence in this case did not entitle the
parties to live separate and apart from each other in the way in which sen-
tences of separation were considered in that court. He was therefore of
opinion, that no sentence of separation had been pronounced by a competent
tiibunal. Here was a person admitted to holy orders in the church of Rome
who was at Rome for a temporary purpose, having no fixed domicile there,
and who could not carry the laws of Rome with him when he left it. Would
it be an answer to a person suing Mr. Connelly for debts contracted by his
wife for necessaries supplied to her to plead that she was professed in
religion — that she was the head of a religious community in this country,
and was therefore empowered by the law of Rome to live separate from her
husband f From the peculiar circumstances of this case it was not likely to
occur, but in a suit for divorce by reason of adultery would the husband be
bound by this foreign separation ? Much had been said in the argument as
to the motive by which Mr. Connelly was actuated, but the court could not
attend to it. Mr. Connelly might have been induced to institute these
proceedings for the purpose of protecting himself against any demands made
upon him on account of his wife. It had been said that, although the court
might not consider the facts pleaded in the allegation a bar to the suit, yet,
considering the situation in which the lady was placed, and the vows which
she had taken, the court might hold its hand, and not compel her to break
them, by enforcing the sentence praved. That circumstance might influence
the feelings of the court, but could not affect its judicial sentence. The
allegation was not entitled to be admitted, and therefore it must be rejected.
Tlie proctor for Mrs. Connelly gave notice of appeal.
BIRTHS.
On the 5th of March, at Mount Grove, Hampstead, the wife of T.
Jackson, Esa., of a son.
On the 20th of March, at 11, Coates-crescent, Edinburgh, Mrs.
Monte iTH, of Carstairs, of a daughter.
DEATHS.
Of your charity pray for the repose of the soul of Francis Hill, who
died at Jamaica the 31st of January last, aged 7Q years.
On the 23rd of February, at Southport, Louis Almond Bkauvoisin,
aged 65 years.
The Abb^ Pons Gregoire, Senior Canon of the Cathedral of Valence, in
the department of the Dr6me, died there, on the I3th inst., in the 102nd
year of his age.
On the 5th of March, at the Catholic chapel, Brighton, the Rev. Edward
CuLLiN, aged 73, much respected and lamented.
On the 6th of March, at his residence, 29, Camden-road Villas, Arthur
Short, Esq., aged 92 years.
On the 21st of March, at 7, Warren-street, Liverpool, Mrs. Ann
NooNAN, aged 42 years.
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by CjOOQ IC
NboNAN, aged 42 years.
Digitized by CjOOQ IC
THE CATHOLIC
[AGAZINE AND REGISTER.
LXIII. May, 1860. Vol. XL
-m
VIRGIL'S INFERNAL REGIONS.*
many years had I ardently wished to ascertain whether, in
dbing die Tartarean Regions in the neighbourhood of Cuma,
il had faithfully availed himself of the peculiar localities of
2^^ country, or like Homer — and situating them in the same
^^^ J but regardless of geographical accuracy^— liad merely
^^ ined the existence of hills, valleys, plains, rivers, lakes,
s, caverns, and flames, wherever best suited the plan of
oem.
It I reflected with Heyne that, if, in pret-ending to describe
'^liii^l country in which the Romans most delighted^ Virgil had
yarded topographical exactness, he would have exposed
)lf to the censure and derision of all who were acquainted
the ground.
length, recollecting the lines of Dante's Inferno —
O de gli alti Poeti honore e lume,
Yagliami 1 lungo studio el grand* amore
Che mlia fatto cercar lo tuo volume ;
Tu se' lo mio maestro el mio autore ! —
rageously recurred to Virgil himself; and as the Cumaean
tnissa conducted the Trojan hero to Orcus, and then safely
m back to the pojrt, so did he securely direct my entrance
py exit from his Tartarean Regions;, and by faithfully
mg to his. most minute descriptions, I have been able to
his every station, and have found them, at the present day,
ly the same as they appear in his poem.
k. XI.
* Compiled from the Italicm of Dr^ de Jiorio.
L
f
Digitized by CjOOQ IC
134 Virgil's infernal regions.
But, had I not cast aside all bis learned commentators, I
should most certainly have remained lost, like one of his wan-
dering shades — vainly beseeching rugged Charon to convey me
to the opposite shore !
My object being, then, merely geographical, it is immediately
apparent that this is a question on a matter of fact — whether
yirgiFs poetical descriptions apply to the actual appearances of
the country of which he treats.
My first and last request to prove that they do is contained
in two words — go and see. Do you wish to enjoy the poet ?
go and read him, step by step, along those roads which he will
point out to you by poetic names, and which I will trace by
their modem designations ; and then tell me how very, very
different is Virgil read upon the spot which he describes, to
Virgil read in your solitary study !
llie following are the modern names of the places to which
the figures on the map refer.
Shore of Cuma.
Bock of Cuma.
[») Avemo, or Caneto — ^Avernus.
;«) Bath or Grotto of the Sibyl.
(•) liucrino, or S. Filippo. — Styoia PALrs.
(n Scalatrone.
m Fusaro— AoHERUsiA Palus.
(^) AcquaMorta — Coottus.
'*) Foce del Fusaro.
) Pertuso della Gaveta.
I Crocevia di Gapella.
>) Mercato di Sabato.
Mare Morto— Lethe.
Puzzillo.
St. Anna.
Bacoli.
Mount Procida
Bay of Pozzuoli.
First Part.
In the beginning of the Sixth Book of Virgil, JBneas with
his followers, the remains of the Trojans, reaches the Eubcean
shore of Cuma.*(*) The ardent troops leap, rejoicing on the
coast of Italy : some strike sparks firom flints ; some bring wood
* V. 2. £t tandem Euboide Cumarum adlabitur oris.
(«) SeetheTopognphioalMap.
Digitized by
Google
viboil's infernal regions. 135
firom the forests, and tell of the newly-discorered streams.*
But pious iEneas seeks the temple over which presides mighty
Apolloy and still further, the immense cavern, the abode of the
dreaded Sibyl.t(*). They enter the wood(*») and the golden
temple of Diana.}
Here the poet tarries to describe this temple, and detains
JSueas to admire the sculptures on its gates. These arrest the
attention of the Trojan hero imtil he is interrupted by Deiphobe,
the priestess of Apollo and Diana, who bids him offer sacrifice
to the divinity.
On one side of the Euboean rock is a cavern to which lead
a hundred vast passages and a hundred gates ; and, firom these,
rush as many voices — ^the responses of the SibyL§ Arrived on
the threshold, the virgin exclaims. This the time to interrogate
the fates ! the god, behold the god ! ||
Devoutly the Trojan king offers up his prayers. The spirit
of prophecy descends upon the Sibyl ; suddenly the hundred
wide gates of the cavern fly open,ir and the responses of the
prophetess are heard foretelling the dangers of the Latian
war.
iEneas, clinging to the altars, replies — ^No misfortunes can
be new to me or unexpected! I only pray that I may be
permitted to descend among the eternal shades and see once
more my dear father. Do thou show me the road, and open
Ae sacred gates.**
Aye, replies the holy prophetess ; the descent to hell is easy,
but hard and difficult is it to return firom thence. Every
• V. 6. JaVenum maDUs emicat ardeni
LdttuB in Hesperiam : quserit pan semina flammae
Abstnisa in venis silicis ; pars densa feranim
Tecta, rapit silvaa, inventaque flumina monatrat.
t V. 9. At pins ^neas aroea quibua altus ApoUo
Pfaesidet, borrendaeque procul secreta Sibyll»
Antrum iinma&e» petit—
(>) See the Map.
(^) Even now, one cannot f^^o from the shore to the Rook of Coma,
irithont passing through a little wood.
t V. 13. Jam subeunt TVivisB luoos, atque anrea tecta.
§ V. 42. Excisnm Euboice latus ingens xapis in antrum.
Quo lati ducunt aditus centum, ostia centum,
Unde ruunt totidem voces, responsa dibylle.
II V. 45. Ventum erat ad limen, cum virgo : posoere hlt^
Tempus, ait : Deus, ecoe, Deus.
IT V. 81. Ostia jamque domiis patuere ingentia centum.
** V. 106. Unum oro : quando hie infemi janua regis
Dicitur, et tenebrosa palus Acheionte refuse;
Ire ad conspectum cari genitoris, et ora
Gtfntingat: doceaa iter et sacra ostia pandas.
L 2
Digitized by
Google
186 yiboil's inpbbnal regions.
approaeh to it is encumbered by forests, and Coc7tus(*) rolling its
black waters, surrounds it.^(^) But if thy mad desire to pass
twice tbe Stygian lake, and tmce to behold black Tartarus is
so great,t tbou must carry in thy hand the golden branch
sacred to infernal Juno, and buried in a thick bush. All the
wood conceals it, and the shadows of the dark valley cover it4
But while thou art inquiring into the future, a friend of thine
lies dead, and sorrow overshadows all thy fleet.
^neas returns to the beach; hears of the death of his
trumpeter Misenus ; and, while his followers are engaged in
felling Wood for the funeral pyre, the two doves, sent by his
mother, guide him to the mouth of Avemus, and, at length, stay
iheir ^ght upon the tree that bears the wished-for golden
branch.§ (^) iEneas plucks it, and hastens with it to the abode
of the Sibyl.||
The fiineral obsequies of Misenus being then completed,
laid his arms and accoutrements buried under the mountain
that still bearj» his name,ir iEneas returns to execute the
(•) Cocytus is here used as the general appellation of the waters of
Tartarus.
• V. 161. Tenent media omnia sylvae,
Cocytusque sinn labens circumfluit atro.
(*>) IMnr to the map if vou are unacquainted with the country. Five
klies of water and the sixth, supposed to be of fire, surround the poet's
well-imagined hell. Trace these lakes — Fusaro, Aquamorta, Maremorto^
Luerino, Avemo, and — ^between the second and the third, amid these still-
unextbguished volcanoes — Phlegethon, and you %vill own that, not only a
ya^, but a geographer might say, Cocytus, rolling its black waters, sur-
rounds it.
t V. 133. Quod si tantus amor meUti, si tanta cupido est
Bis S^gios innare lacus, bis nigra videre
Tartara—
t V. 13S. hunc tegit omnia
Lueus, et obscuris claudunt convallibns umbre.
§ y. 201. Inde ubi venere ad £auces graveolentis Avemi,
• • • • • •
Sedibus optatis gemina super arboie sidunt.
(c) See the Map No. 201. Let not the reader suppose that I have traced
dia winding^ from 2 to 201 without a definite object. Those words, ad
fauces, prove the poet's intimate acquaintance with this country. On every
side was the lake of Avemus inaccessible except from that one points . Even
now — excepting where the sudden irruption of Monte Nuovo. interferes
with them — ^the bills that surround it are perpendicular; and although
poetic license would have permitted Virgil to transport his hero over inac-
cessible crags, yet he preferred making him walk like any other mortal,
and conducting him by the only practicable path^-this rent in the rocky
boundary of the lake.
II y. 210. Corripit extempb ^neas avidusque refringit
Cunctantem, et vatis portat sub tecta Sibyllas.
IT y. 234. Monte sub aeiio, qui nunc Misenus ab illo
Dieitur» Ktemumque tenet per secula nomen.
Digitized by
Google
tirgil's infernal regions. 137
command of the prophetess ; and^ after Terifying the exactness
of the preceding local descriptions, here we shall again find
him and his Sibylline guide.
Now in tracing the locality of these scenes, we are fortunately
assisted by two indisputable facts, by two positive latidmarks
—the shore of Cuma, where JBneas lands, and the Elysian
fields, where his wanderings in hell terminate. It is interesting
to obsenre how, CTon in the present times, these localities
maintain their ancient mythological names. Ask any peasant
in the village of Bacoli, called S. Anna, the name of the place,
and it is a toss up whether he will answer S. Anna or the
Elysian Fields !
There is, moreover, the lake of Avemus, in the centre ; and
on its identity not ^e slightest doubt exists. These three
well-ascertained points and Virgil I took for my guides, and
by their help I have been able to ascertain what was doubtful,
and to discover what was unknown.
Shore of Cuma. — All the learned agree that this is the
shore to which the poet brings his hero. If some say that he
landed on the coast of Baja, the two opinions are not incom-
patible ; for, according to Dion Cassius, the gulph of Baja was
once called the Cumaean gulf. The discovery, made this
year, of a Grecian sepulchre in Baja, confirms the assertion
of Strabo. Such sepulchres prove that the Cumaean Greeks
once inhabited it, and that the dependencies of Cuma extended
as far as Baja.
Temple of Apollo. — It were useless to say much on ihis
subject. Local ignorance alone can mislead the antiquarian.
Go and see if, on the coast of Cuma, there is any other rock
than that vi^hich I and so many others have pointed out, and
which, even to the present day, preserves the name of the Bock
of Cuma I On this rock, still exist the remains of the founda-
tion of the temple ; and beneath it, is the cavern of the Sibyl !
Grotto of the Sibyl. — Of this famous cavern of the Cumasan
prophetess, Virgil gives the following three characteristics: —
that it was excavated in one side of the Euboean rock ; that it
bad a hundred wide approaches and a hundred gates ; that these
led to an internal cell from which, in her holy transports, the
prophetess delivered her oracles through a hundred passages.
Here also it would be sufficient to say go, and see ; but much
having been written on this cavern, and as, owing to its partially*
mined state, some might find a difficulty in recognising it — I
will speak on it at some length.
In order to understand the great exactness with which the
poet describes this cavern, we must consider it in reference to
its ancient use and to its present state.
Digitized by
Google
138 Virgil's infeknal regions.
In three ways did the ancients employ this subterraneous
cave. As a quarry for blocks of stone : as an additional defence
to the rock : for religious purposes.
Its Ancient Use. — It is natural that, when, in times unknown
to us, a Greek colony had landed on lliis shore and selected the
most beautiful spot on the coast and the only one capable of
being defended from possible-aggressions — it should have built
houses, temples, and fortifications. It is also natural that, when
stone was wanted, it should have preferred that which was close
at hand to that which could only be had from a distance. It is
folly to assert that all the grottos about Cuma existed before
the country was inhabited. Go and see if you can find one ,that
is not evidently the work of human hands. Here, then, is the
first cause of the many excavations existing in the rock.
The vicinity of the quarry was also advantageous, inasmuch
as that, if the colony was attacked before their works were com-
pleted, its inhabitants found materials on the very spot, and
were enabled, to continue them without danger from external
enemies.
During sieges — and to provide against such their attention
must have been first directed — facility of procuring water must
have been a principal object of consideration.
By continuing their excavations beneath the mountain, tiiey
would reach the level of the sea and obtain it in plenty. But
as the ancients endeavoured to extract the greatest possible
advantages from their undertakings, they were not contented
with drawing both water and stone from the mountain on which
they had settied ; by its means, also, they gave additional
strength to the fortress on the rock.
Nature having formed this rock perpendicular on three sides,
it presented to llie enemy a rampart from which the Greeks
could easily defend tiiemselves. But by means of these internal
excavations, they rendered its defence much more easy ; and
by cutting away the stone on the fourth side, they have made,
as it were, anotiier rampart.
These internal excavations required occasional appertures
through which they might receive day-light firom above, and
through which the stone might be drawn out.
These apertures were made sometimes horizontal and some-
times perpendicular, according to the plan which is followed
even at this time, in the quarries round Naples. By making a
great number of them horizontal, the Greeks were enabled to
draw great advantages from them in war. From the mouth of
each, not only could the eneniy's movements be observed, but
missiles could be showered down upon them : and a^ nature
and art had rendered the fortress inaccessible from every side but
Digitized by
Google
viroil's infernal regions. 139
one, so, from the grotto and from these more horizontal aper-
tures, the besieged might make sallies on the foe ; while through
the perpendicular apertures they drew up stone, water, and all
that was requisite. Even at the present time many of these
mouths remain open. On the right and left of the modem
entrance to this grotto some are to be seen. This modem
entrance and the openings in front of it were formerly like them.
A great many others may be found concealed under the earth
and the rubbish of buildings fallen from above, and the briars
and creeping plants which overshadow them.
Then, following their laudable system of turning every thing
to account, the Greeks built, in the centre of this complicated
subterranean, a sort of temple where they pretended that the
priestess of Apollo delivered her Sibylline responses. We shall
presently see how and where this temple existed.
Its Present State. — Although the present entrance be the
same as that which existed in Virgil's time, yet let it be remem-
bered that the whole exterior of the rock has been purposely
changed, and has been so worn by time that it has lost its
ancient form. The portion along which visitors now walk, was,
formerly, part of the third range, or story, of excavations ; for
another aperture is visible immediately beneath it, and, from
this — the entrance alluded to by the poet — it is possible to
descend into another story beneadi and far within the rock.
As to the communications with the interior of the fortress,
one is still seen on the left of the present entrance. But how
many have been blocked up in digging and planting trees on
this cultivated ground where once stood a city ! Thirty years
since, many were pointed out to me by the peasants of the
neighbom'hood ; here, said they, we have found a trabucco-^%0
they denominate regular, deep alleys.
And such, certainly existed in great numbers; for besides
the perpendicular apertures which gave light to those who
worked below, and afforded passage to the stone they extracted,
there must have been other internal roads through which the
garrison might descend to make sallies and pass, as we said
before, from one quarry to another. These communications
hare been blocked up by time, and I believe also by the Neapo-
litans at the period when they entirely destroyed Guma, because
it had become the asylum of banditti.
Even the descent, which is, as I have said, visible from the
present entrance, must have been one of the shortest of these
subterranean communicatious, because it is not passable a little
below the surface of the rock.
Among all these communications, there certainly was one that
led from the internal Temple to the Grotto. The temple thus
Digitized by
Google
140 YIBGIL'S infernal iUBOIONI^.
fonniiig part of the subterranean, the opinions of ihose who
fkssert diat the Sibyl conducted ^neas from the temple itself to
tlie grotto, and of those who admit only one external entrance
in the front of the rock of Cuma— are easily reconciled.
Similar changes have occurred to the internal passages. By
penetrating far within the grotto through the ancient entrance^
which is fax beneath that one through which visitors now
generally pass — some may be seen built up with, regular walls.
As to the external horizontal apertures, I judge, from those
which are still visible, that they must formerly have been very
numerous. Before passing through the present entrance, you
may see some to the right and the left ; and others may be dis-^
covered from the first interior ramification to the right, or
amongst the brushwood and shrubs that, banging down from
above, completely overshadow them on the outside.
Excepting these four alterations which time and the order of
events have occasioned, the grotto is now as it was known to
the ancients. But the most interesting question is that which
involves the discovery of the exact point to which the hundred
passages led, and from which the hundred voices of the
I'ythonissa proceeded.
If I only brought forward the description I have just given of
the many external apertures existing on the eastern and western
sides of this cavern, and from which the voice of one crying on
the inside would naturally issue — I should have done enough to
prove that Virgil's expression is historical as well as poetical ;
but if this does not suffice to some, let them know that, by
penetrating into the bowels of the grotto, a central point, as it
were, is found in which Ae different internal ramifications
meet, and from which the voice of any one calUixg aloud pro-
duces the effect described.
This point is still visible to whoever has the courage to pene-
trate to it ; and whoever should do so would also find there the
remains of the secret receptacle of the Pythonissa.
From Virgil, we have the first account of this cave. S. Justin
and Agathias have since described it more minutely.
In 1787, Carletti, also, speaks of it ; — ^but in his usual style,
so that I cannot say whether the cavern or his account of it be
the most labyrinthine ; he does, however, say that he reached a
point where he found the remains of the temple and of the
mosaics that had once adorned it, and that a hundred passages
led to this place.
For my part, in 1811, 1 proceeded so far on the inside that I
discovered not only the different passages, but also, at a little
distance in front, what seemed stucco pilastres. Tlieir white
surface that reflected the glare of the torches amid the great
Digitized by
Google
.vi&oil's infbbnal rboions. 141
darkness through which we had scnunUed fdr more ihan two
hours, and some human bones that we imfortunately discoreied
benefit our feet, so alarmed my guide that, neither by prayers
or threats, was it possible to make him advance or even follow
me. At my importunities, his fear changed into anger ; and he
became so enraged that, in order to pacify him, I was obliged
to take him by the band, and, in a conciliatory manner, promise
to lead him out again. Since then, I have not given way to
coriosity which, to my cost, I may call foolishly learned*
From all this, Ihen, we may conclude that the grotto which
ive have described, is the same which Virgil calls the Gave of
the Sibyl, and which he so &ithfully pourtrays in two lines.
It is entered from the side of the Eubcean rock. It has
a hundred doors — that is to say, external apertures — and a
hundred internal ramifications that lead to the dark cell of the
Gumaean Pythoness.
This cave is so situated that Ihe Sibyl may have been said to
deliver her oracles from the very temple of Apollo : since, by aa
internal passage, it was easy to descend from the one to the
other : nor was the distance great, as may be seen by the
external height of the rock. Thus, then, the different com«-
mentaries of the learned are reconciled by the simple interpre-
tation of ihe words of the poet — ^he facts still remaining
unchanged. But if ever the reader should wish to penetrate
into this cavern, let him first get well acquainted with some
person of the neighbourhood, and not commence until he has
taken every possible precaution, nor unless he be accompanied
by more than one guide.
Second Part.
Let it be remarked that Virgil does not mention the
second journey of ^Eneas from the shore to Avernus ; I have,
not, therefore, traced it in the map. And the obscurity which
is thus allowed to hang over his immediate approach to the Tar-
tarean regions, appears to me worthy of admiration. We now,
therefore, return to that portion of the poem at which we
broke off to verify the corography of the first division.
There was a deep cave, it proceeds to say, with an immense
rocky mouth, defended by the shadows of a dark wood and
by a black lake, and above which no bird could fly with
impunity.* (') Here, while the requisite sacrifices are being
* V. 237. Spelunca alta fuit vastoque immanis hiata
Scrupea, tuta lacu nifirro nemorumque tenebris ;
Quam super haud uUse poterant impune volantea
Tendere iter pennis.
(») See the Map— No. 237.
Digitized by
Google
142 yiROIL^S INFERNAL REGIONS.
offered np, morning dawns — ^the tops of the forests tremble—^
the earth groans — ^and the dogs of Hecate howl among the
shades. Off, off, cries the Sibyl ; and do thoa ^neas draw
thy sword — 'tis now thy courage is needed ! So saying, she
rashes into the dark cavem and JSneas follows her.*
They advanced amid the surrounding shades and the empty
halls and regions of Dis.t Having passed through the cavern,
they see, in front of the porch and in the very jaws of Orcu8,J
the personifications of various diseases and evils, and, at the
other end, the phantoms of War, Madness, and the Furies.§
Here, also, an immense elm spreads feir around its ancient
branches||,(') among the leaves of which vain dreams dwell.
And here various monsters, standing at the gates of their dens,ir
alarm JSneas, who seizes his sword and would have attacked
them, had not his learned guide informed him of their incor-
poreal nature.**
Let us now seek the foundation, or origin, of these descrip-
tions of localities.
As Virgil commenced his journey from the Lake of Avemus
— and, that he did there commence it, every subsequent stage
will clearly prove — so he afterwards passed many different
points, each of which may be called an entrance, and each of
which does in fact open upon a new portion of his road.
Thus, when in the Grotto, the hero is
In faucibus Orci ;
on coming out on the opposite side, the Sibyl tells him
Hinc via Tartarei, &c.
Then, on the shores of the Acherusia Palus, they find the
multitudes who
* V. 262. Tantum effata furens antro se immisit aperto^
Ille dttcem baud timidis vadentem passibus aequat.
t Y. 268. Ibant obscuri sola sub nocte per umbras
Perque doioos Ditis vacuas, et inania refpia.
t V. 273. Vestibulum ante ipsum primisque in faucibus Orci.
§ V. 278. Turn consanifuineus Lethi Sopor, et mala mentis
Gaudia, mortiferumque adverso in limine Bellum,
Ferreique Eumenidum tbalami, et Discordia demens.
II v. 282. In medio ramos annosaque bracbia pandit
Ulmis opaca, inf^ens —
(^) See the map, at the end of the Grotto towards the Stygia Palus. It
18 curious that elm trees still thrive on this spot.
% V. 285. Multaque praeteria variarum monstra ferarum,
Centauri in foribus stabulant —
** V. 290. Corripit hie subita trepidus formidine ferrum
^neas —
Digitized by
Google
viroil's infernal regions. 148
Stabant orantes primi transmittere cursum,
Tendebantque manus ripss ulterioriB amore.
Having left Charon's boat, they find the more immediate
guardian of hell : —
Cerberus hsBC ingens latratu regna trifauci
Fersonat : adverso recubans immanis in antro.
At last they reach the entrance of Tartarus, and here the
poet exclaims.
Turn demum borrisono stridentes cardine sacre
Panduntur portee.
But let us consider what local peculiarities now in existence
can have been the prototype of the dark cavern through which
we have just seen JSneas and his companion pass into Orcus,
and where they were assailed by the incorporeal images of wild
beasts and poetical monsters.
Whoever visits the Lake of Avemus, is conducted by his
Cicerone to the so-called Grofta^ or Bagno delta Sihilla. This,
like the grotto of Posilipo, is a tunnel — or arched road — cut
through die mountain, and which, according to Strabo, was
excavated to facilitate the communication between Baja and
Avemus : and that such was its object, is sufficiently proved
by its present appearance. It is now unfrequented, and the
end towards Baja is generally barricadoed. But whoever has
been carried along it on the shoulders of his Cicerone and
heard him splash in the stagnant water as it reflected the
ruddy light of his flaring torch — ^will agree, on recollecting
the gloomy cells he visited on his right, that no place could
be better calculated to answer the poet's purpose and serve as
the beau ideal of a road to Hell. Here, then, is a subterraneous
passage still existing in the very spot in which Virgil describes
his terrific and apparently-supernatural entrance !
The monsters who are represented as defending the passage,
might be justly ascribed to the imagination of the poet, and
I am not bound to prove that they had a real existence. But
who knows but that, in these caverns which open upon the
Grotto, and which he fairly calls the dens of vnld beasts —
who knows but that in these caverns the luxury of the Romans
had stationed a menagerie ? The word stabulant appears to
convey such a meaning: Centaurs, Chimeras, Grorgons, and
Monsters who existed only in poetical imagination, could
hardly have been said to be stabled. All this is, however, a
mere supposition ; I have only bound myself to trace the
corograpby of Virgil's Sixth Book.
Digitized by
Google
144
On coming out of this Orotta della Sibilla — ^this first entrance
to the Infernal Regions — we find immediately before us the
Lucrine Lake. For the following reasons, I belieye this to
have been the celebrated Stygian Lake
Di cujus jurare timent et fallere numen.
Speaking of the rivers of Hell, the learned Heyne asks if
Virgil gave the names to his Infernal rivers, or followed the
idea of the poets who had preceded him ; and, after considering
all that the Grreeks and Latins have said on the subject, he
ingenuously confesses that, not being acquainted with the
scene of action, he is not qualified to determine whether Virgil
had recurred to fiction and imagination, or had merely described
the waters of the country and mentioned them by the names
by which they were already known. Elsewhere, however, he
seems inclined to think that he rather followed die dictates of
imagination than of geographical exactness.
Now, I assure the reader that, although the poet of Mantua,
acquainted with all the fables which his predecessors had
invented, has arranged and enriched them with additional
embellishments — he has always adapted them most exactly
to the places he describes ; and while he so united every thing
that he appears to have taken from the local appearances alone
the plan both of Tartarus and of Elysium, yet he not only
adopted the poetical ideas of Homer and Plato, but also the
ground; for it is not doubted but that Homer brought his
Ulysses to this spot to seek the shade of Tiresias.
With respect to the Stygian Lake, let it be remembered that
the word Styx has a double meaning — general and individual.
Thus, infernal waters, rivers, lakes, boats, and woods are all
Stygian : at other times, the Stygian marsh denotes particularly
one of the five rivers of hell.
Now our poet in his Sixth Book employs this word in its
first sense only(') and never individually. We must, there-
fore examine, if this lake existed in Virgil's time ; to which of
the waters of the Phlegraean Fields it corresponds ; and where-
fore the poet has not named it individually.
The Tartarian Kingdom is said to contain five rivers, or
lakes, and five lakes now exist in this region where I assert
tliat Virgil placed Orcus — these are Averno, Lucrino, Fusaro,
Acquamorta, and Maremorto. One of these must, therefore,
be the ancient Styx; and from among these, it is easy to
single out the one we are in search of. It is incontestible
which of the five is Avemus. Fusaro and Acquamorta are,
(<") See verses 134, 154, 250, 369, 391, 439, 385.
Digitized by
Google
vibgil's infernal. regions. 145
at)earding to. Virgil, Acheron and Cocytus ; and we sball here*
after see that Maremorto is the poet's Lethe. The fifith^
therefore, the modem Lago Lucrino must necessarily be the
Stygia Palus of the ancients. Strabo and Hesiod mention
the Lucrine and Stygian lakes as one. It is well known that
Slyx was daughter of Ooeanus ; and we all know that, eyen in
the time of the Romans, the waters of the Bay of Pozzuoli —
which Homer calls the Ocean — flowed into the Lucrino in
stormy weather, and thus created this lake ! If it did not lead
me away from my subject, I should like to be more difiuse oni
this idea.
It may be cause of surprise that the poet, who so exactly
describes the other four rivers of Hell and calls them by their
proper names, should never have mentioned the river Styx in
its individual character. But let it be recollected that he
wrote at a time when the luxury of the Romans was at its
greatest height; and that the other four lakes being already
wanted elsewhere, the Lucrino alone remained to represent the
awful river Styx. But the Lucrine with its famous oysters was
the delight of the Roman epicures ; the Lucrine was the scene
of the pleasures of the most noble among the Romans, who
flocked to the enchanted shores of Baja: how, then, could
Virgil have told his readers and his countrymen '^ You are all
eating infernal oysters — ^You are all singing and enjoying
yourselyes on the waters of Hell !" Such rudeness would have
been unworthy of him ; and the Roman ladies would never
have forgiyen the poet.
Third Part.
iEueas and the Sibyl, having passed through the first
entrance to Hell, are now on their road towards the Tar-
tarean Acheron,^ (*) which overflowings oasts its sands and
muddy waters into Cooytus.t -^neas approaches the shore of
the Acherusian Lake and the unburied crowds who throng
around it.(^) The Sibyl points out to him Cocytus and the
Stygian Lake,{ and the ferryman, Charon.
I^oceeding onwards, they reach the pallid river ; and
* V. 295. Hinc via Tartaret quae fert Acherontis ad undas*
(<") See the Map.
t V. 296. Torbidus hie coeno vastaque voragine gurges
^stuat, atque omnem Cocyto eructat arenam.
C) See the Map, No. 305.
X V. 32aw Ck>cyti 9ti^paia alta vides, Stygiamaue paludem.
325. Hsec oionis, quam cernis, inops innumataque turba est j
Fortitor ille, Charon; hi, quos vehit unda, sepulti.
Digitized by
Google
146 viroil's infernal regions.
having, at lengih, prevailed apon Charon to carry them over,
they set foot upon the muddy weeds of the opposite shore. (•)
Here the fierce barkings of the mighty Cerberus, lying
within his cave, resound.^ Deceiving his vigilance, ^neas
gains the cavern, and quickly rises from the shores of the
irremeable waters.f That is to say, he ascends the little
promontory between the lake and the sea, and passing over
the Orotto, pursues his route.
Advancing onwards, ^neas passes through the Fields of
Tears, {(^) recognising his old friends and enemies and swearing
to Dido that he did not think
Hunc tantum tibi me discessu ferre dolorem.
While, therefore, in the language of a modem rou^, he closes
an episode which nothing but the domineering insolence of a
Roman would have prevented Virgil from seeing was dis-
graceful to the character of his ^' pious" hero, we will trace
the road he has followed since he passed the first porch of
the Infernal Regions.
On the way towards Acheron, the Sibyl had pointed out
a place from which she said
Cocjti stagna alta vides, Stjgiamque paludem.
This line ma^e me abandon the present road from tbe
Lucrine to Fusaro ; as it does not lead to any place fix>in
which both the lakes are visible at once. Nor was 1 without
another strong reason for supposing that Virgil^s path led
along the sides of the hills. The modem road — as may be
seen in the two valleys in the map— is perfectly independent
of the ancient, and, being chiefly formed by the mountain
torrent^ is particularly rough and irregular. Now we all know-
how durable weie the Roman roads, and some portions of
such an one I discovered in the direction I point out^ although
I was not able to trace it in an unbroken line.
The line of road which ^neas and the Sibyl follow, appears
to me to prove that Acherusia and the modem Fusaro, so
celebrated for its oysters, are one and the same Lake.
(a) See the Map. No. 415.
* V. 416. Iniormi limo glaudUjue ezponit in ulvA.
Cerberus hsec ingens latratu regna trifaud
Personaty adverso recubans iiomanis in antro.
t V. 424. Occupat ^neas auditum custode sepulto,
Evaditque celer ripam irremeabilis undse;
X V. 440. Nee procul hine partem fasi monstrantur in omnem
Lugentes campi —
(b) See the Map, No. 246> and the following.
Digitized by
Google
TIBaiL'S INFERNAL REGIONS. 147
In fact, When the Hero and the Priestess, passing the Grotto
of Avemus — the first entrance of Hell — ^arrive ctdverao in
limine — ^both which points are indisputably settled — Virgil
exclaims — Hinc via Tartarei* Now place yourself at this
spot, that is to say, at the southern mouth of the Grotto, and
from whence you have only the choice of three roads, and you
will see that the one to the left leads to Pozzuoli, the Solf&tara,
and other places — aU perfectly independent of Tartarus, nor
alluded to in the poem ; and that the one in the centre leads
only to the Lucrine and the sea — ^the Ocean of the ancients.
There remains, therefore, only the path on the right which I
have selected, and which leads to the two Lakes which Virgil
says are contiguous and, what is more, to the point from which,
as he declares, they are both risible. These two Lakes musl^
therefore, be Acheron and Gocytus, which were contiguous
in the time of the author as they are at present
But with his invariable exactness, Virgil has determined
which is the Acherusian. For, in the first place, he says that,
in it was Charon's boat; and, secondly, that its superabundant
waters and mud overflowed and formed another Lake.
The first point of eridence being merely poetical, my plan
does not inteifere with it : whoever pleases, may believe it :
Virgil asserts the fact — and let his assertion suffice. In oppo-.
sition to the second proof, some people recur to volcanic
changes and suppose, whenever it suits them, that the super-
ficies of the soil has been altered : but let the reader know
that the fact asserts the contrary. The laws of nature are
unchangeable, and are the same now as they were at the time
of which we treat Even now, whenever the sea rises into
the Fusaro, the latter throws its waters into the little neigh-
bouring Lake called Acquamorta. And as this is the most
pestilential of any in the neighbourhood — so much so that
fish do not live in it — its banks, which were formerly very
low, have been raised and a double dam has be^d formed at
the point where it touches the Fusaro, to prevent the super*
abundant overflow of water from the latter.
Now do not the simple and natural characteristics of this
Lake of Fusaro authorise the poet in saying
Turbidus bine coeno vastaque voragine gurges
jSBstuat, atque omnem Gocyto eructat arenam ?
and is it not demonstrated that it is on the banks of this lake
of Fusaro or Acherusia that ^neas meets Charon —
Fortitor has horrendus aquas et flumina servat
Terribili squalore Charpn ?
Digitized by
Google
148 VIBOIL's infernal BEOIONS.
After all these proofs and the researches which we shall
hereafter enter into, I hopie people will no longer say Mira
est con/tmo in his Jluminibus — although such are the words of
the most learned commentator on the Sixth Book.
I think that even the modem name is remarkable ; Acqua-
morta corresponds with the ideas which the ancients lutve
giyen us of this lake. On verse 295, Lacerda says — Nam
reliqui amnes Cocytum inducunt tacentem, stupentemy nuUo
sirepitUj tantum cceno et lentitie valentem — that is to say,
"dead."
The GtKOTto of Cerberus. — As we have determined that
iEneas embarked on the eastern side of Acheron or Fusaro —
since the road he follows ends itiere-^iransjluvium must mean
the opposite shore, marked No. 415 in my Map.
In diis neighbourhood, then, the poet imagines Cerberus:
nor could he choose a point more capable of defence — the lake
on the left hand and the sea on the right ! fiut if ^neas's
track has been, hitherto, clearly explained, there will be no
difficulty in determining which is the cavern of the Tartarean
guard. Let us keep to the poet's own words. He says —
adverse recubans in antro : — now consider his description,
and let me beg you to recollect, if ever you have passed over
the Fuskro, whether your boatman did not always run yon
aground on that very spot? Lift, then, your eyes, and, in
front, at a hundred yard's distance, do you not see the little
hill of the Torre delta Gaveta, and, in it, the cavern of which
I speak ? And tell me if this is not the cave of the guardian
of Hell ? Moreover, this is the only grotto that exists in this
neighbourhood ; and, were there no other proofs, this fact alone
would declare that it must be the antrum Cerberi*
This portion of the present Monte di Procida was formerly
tunnelled by the Grreeks, and the cavern to which we allude
is their ancient canal which, introducing the waters of the
sea into the Fusaro, rendered the latter a safe port for the
Cumffians. Even now, it is part of the Euripus described by
Seneca.^ But I may be told that, as Cerberus was not a fish,
the bed of a canal was ill suitied to him as a kennel : I think
that poetic license might fairly have permitted Virgil to dis-
regard such a criticism; but I will prove that he stands in
need of no similar plea.
What I have observed to happen very frequendy in the
course of thirty-five years must, doubtless, have occurred in
the times of the poet. In stormv weather, the sea throws up
so much sand at die entrance of this subterranean canal, that
Digitized by
Google
viroil's infernal regions. 149
one may pass over it dry shod on the bar so formed. In the
month of May, this bar is regularly cleared away in order
that the waters may continue to flow through the cavern.
Virgil may have observed it while thus blocked up with sand ;
and thus may have placed Cerberus as a sentinel within it ;
while in describing the effects of the sop thrown to him by
the Sibyl, the shape of the grotto justifies the expression
totoque ingens extendiiur antra.
Thus, therefore, have we discovered the cavern of Cerberus,
which all the commentators who have talked about it have
eitber supposed to be a mere fiction,, or have described in
indefinite terms, or, if they have endeavoured to discover it,
have placed it in absurd and impossible situations.
The Fields of Tears. — Immediately beyond the Grotto
of Cerberus and the little hill that rises above it, the poelt
situates the first division of Hell. He only mentions six, and
these may be traced in the Map by the numbers 426, 430, 4d4„
442, 478, 577, which correspond with the verses of the text,
Virgil's selection of the longest and darkest valley in the neigh-
bourhood in which to place his different stations, is idsa
worthy of remark : — unless, indeed, they had been-^like the
Rock of Cuma, the Lake of Avemus, and the Elysian Fields — «
determined before his time. In fact, this spot is, even at the
present day, known by the same name. Go to the place called
Case veccliie — ^the remains of Roman buildings — on the Monte
di Procida, and ask the peasants of the country which is the
road de lo it^fiemoj and they will immediately point out a
path which, leading down precipitous descents, conducts; after
many involutions, to this valley, which extends from the place
called the Pertuso delta Gaveta to the Crocevia di Capella,
and the Mercaio di Sabato,
In the Map, I have marked the Campi lugentes : and I must
remark that Virgil — according to the idea of his times that
the tears of unfortunate lovers swelled the waters of Coeytua
—has situated these fields in the only place from which ibey
oould possibly flow into the Acquamorta,
Fourth Part,
While iEneas lingers in the Fields of Tears, the Sibyl tells
him that their allotted time is passing away, and adds — This
is the place where the path divides into two ; that on the right
passes under the walls of the great Dis and will conduct us to
the Elysian Fields ; that on the left leads to impious Tartarus.*
• V. 639. Nox mit, ^nea; nos flendo ducimus horas.
Hio locus «8t» partes ubi sa via findii in ambaa :
Digitized by
Google
150 Virgil's infernal regions;
Beneath a rock on the left hand, iEneas dees a great city*
defended with a triple wall and suiTounded by the Tartarean
Phlegethon, which hurries along large stones amid its rapid
billows of flames.*
The allotted time, says the Sibyl, is passing away. It is not in
my province to decide the many controversies of commentators
wno have endeavoured to settle the time which ^Eneas enploys
on his descent to Hell ; but, according to the route which I here
trace out, the ground may be passed over in a few hours.
In the Map, No. 540, 1 have marked the branching off of
the road just mentioned by the Sibyl ; and let the reader caU
to mind die different stations we have already determined, and
then, placing himself on the spot at which we have now arrived,
he will recognise the geographical exactness of the poet. Did
he turn off to the left, he would reach Cocytus, the Achemsia
Palus, the Stygia Palus, Avemus — in fact, Ae infernal track
' over which the hero has just passed ; whereas, the path on the
right leads to Lethe and Elysium. But, even at the present
day, these roads are as Virgil describes them ; and I recollect
the delight with which, stopping at this place, I first said to
myself — ^''Surely this is the spot of which Virgil wrote — UH
86 viajindit in amhas ?"
In the times of the poet, also, the walls of the City of
Misenum were seen from l^is spot. Who will assert that he
did not take from them his idea of the triple walls of the city
of Orcus ?
Virgil was obliged to follow Homer in supposing that a river
of fire surrounded the walls of Tartarus. In a poem like the
JSneid, such a fiction might have been fairly permitted. But,
for two reasons, I admire the author in the selection of the place
in which he describes this river to which I have faithfully fol-^
lowed him.
In the first place, he describes it as existing at the back of
two half-extinguished volcanoes. Now I think the exactness
of a poet cannot be questioned because — in speaking of a vol-
canic track at the foot of a mountain which, in his time, wa»
certainly in volcanic activity — he says that he saw rivers of fire !
If the reader is not satisfied with the indisputable craters at
Dextera, quae Ditis magni sub moenia tendit;
Hac iter Elysium nobis ; ad Iseva malorum
Exercet pcecas, et ad impia Tartara mittit.
* V. 548. Respicit iEneas subito, et sub rupe sinistra
Moenia lata videt, triplici circumdata muro ;
Quae rapidus flammis ambit torrentibiis amnis
Tartareus Phlegethon^ torquetque ^onantia «axa^
Digitized by
Google
VIRGIL'S INFERNAL REGIONS. 151
the foot of which Fhlegethon is described, let him recur to
Breislak's map of the craters between ^Naples and the shore of
Cuma. He will there find another six times as large as the
two I point out, and which that Author declares to have existed
on the opposite mountain of Procida.
Similar volcanoes I call half-extinct. Even in our time, we
see in this class, the well-known Siufe di Nerone and the wells
in their vicinity — and the many Fumarole — as the country
people call all the warm places in the earth from which smoke
issues — on the western side of the Scalatrone,
In the second place ; although the poet had borrowed from
Homer the idea of his Pyriphlegethon, the fidelity with which
he has followed the original notion while applying it to his own
purpose, appears to me truly admirable. The Greek poet says
that this infernal river of fire rolled its billows into Cocytns and*
the Acherusia Palus. Now go and see if — ^from the spot of
which Virgil speaks and to which I have traced him — ^the waves
of a river could flow in any direction except towards Acqua--
morta and Fusaro — ^that is to say, Cocytus and Acheron ?
So much for the river of fire ! The track which Virgil has
hitherto described may be considered as the road that leads to
Tartarus ; for to Taitarus itself, he does not descend, but places
it-^according to the common opinion — in the centre of the
earth: —
Turn Tartarus ipse
Bis patet in praeceps tantum, tenditque sub umbras
Quantus ad jptherium ccali suspectus Olympum.
The common-place expression — ^^ volcanic changes *' — emr.
ployed by foreign writers who have been unable to visit our
country, and all those who might have known better but who
would not take that trouble without which they could not give
exact descriptions — ought to be discarded by the learned.
History and facts assure us that, in the neighbourhood of puma, -
Baja, and Miseno, no volcanic change, except the glid'den
appearance of Monte Nuovo, has taken place in the course of
eighteen centuries.
This is proved by facts. Let any one see if, in all the
district which Virgil has so minutely described, he can find the
space of one hundred yards that is not encumbered by Roman
ruins and extensive subterranean works. Besides which, innu-
merable Greek and Roman sepulchres are daily discovered
beneath the soil. These imaginary volcanoes must, it would
therefore seem, have acted in the bowels of the earth and vrith-
out disturbing the surface ? Be it so : as such a supposition
would not interfere with our object, we give every one full
M 2
Digitized by
Google
152; Virgil's infernal regions.
liberty to indulge it. But for the sake of comnion honesty, let.
not people talk of yolcanie changes in order to conceal the
negligence with which they adopt and publish preposterous
opinions.
Fifth Part.
But speed thee,* exclaims the Sibyl; I see the walls of
Elysium and, in the opposite arch, the gates where we must
deposit our gift! Both, then, advance along the dark path,
and approach the gates by the middle road.f The spot on.
-vfhich the Sibyl spoke, corresponds with the modem Mercato
di Sabato. Here, in the time of the Romans, there was a.
circus. May not the sight of this structure have awakened in
tl^e poet the idea of the gates of Elysium as the walls of M ise-
nus had typified those of Tartarus ?
Having there offered up the golden branch, they entered the
happy region allotted to the spirits of the blessed. J Here
iEneas ascends a hillock — of which there are many in this
neighbourhood — and, having found his father Anchises, wanders .
^ith him through those delicious regions (') and here, flowing
placidly amid t^te rustling twigs, he sees the river Lethe around
whose banks throng the impatient souls of future nations. §
Ascending a neighbouring hill (^) Anchises from thence points
out to him the spirits of his mightiest and best descendants; and.
having addressed the shade of the future Marcellus in more
beautiful and feeling language than court flattery ever before or
since inspired — they continue to wander along the blissful
plain II till they reach the two Gates of Dreams. One of these
* V. 629. Sed jam af^^e, carpe viam, et susceptum perfice munus.
t V. 633. Dixerat, et pariter f^ressi per opaca viarum,
Corripiunt spatium medium foribasque propinquant.
I V. 637* His demum exactis, perfecto munere Divse,
Devenere locos Is^tos, et amcena vireta
Fortunatonim nemorum, sedesque beatas.
(•) See the Map Nos. 703 and 7o6.
J V. 703. Interea vidit iEneas in valle reducta
Seclusum nemus, et virfirulta sonantia silyis,
Letheaeumque, domos placidas qui prtenatat, amnem.
Hunc circura innumerse j^rentes populique volabant
0») From this spot — No. 703 — the same road by which' Virgil ascended
still leads to an elevated space on which the parish church of St. Anna is
* 'injrs. Do you, reader!
! the truth of the poel's
tngo ordine possit
vultus.
^antur
itrant.
Digitized by
Google
Virgil's infernal regions. 1^3
gates, that on the, right, is said to be made of black horn and
gives exit to true dreams ; the other is made of shining white
ivory, but through it the infernal gods send false dreams to
mortals.* Hither Anchises leads his son and the Sibjl, and
dien sends them forth by the ivory gate.
^neas by the shortest cutt returns to his ships and followers.
Virgil never forgets his geographical exactness ! His expres*
sion is 9ecat viatn : well now, draw a straight line from the
point at which we have arrived and it will lead you direct to
the Eubcean shore. And^ what is more, it will not cross any
lake, any cavern, any principal station of Tartarus through
which iEneas and the Sibyl have already passed. See the
Map, No. 900.
• In order to prove how exactly Virgil followed the mytholo-
^cal ideas of his predecessors, and how happily he applied
them to the ground to which they had guided him, I beg to
recall one of the local peculiarities which the ancients attributed
to Lethe. This name was affixed to several rivers : one flowed
into the Maeander near Magnesia; another near Gortyn in
Crete ; another under the walls of Triccae in Thessaly, a city
of iEsculapius; another near Berenice in Lybia; another in
Spain, and another in Boeotia. The Greeks, however, placed
Lethe among the rivers of Tartarus, which its waters laved and
thence extended to the Elysian Fields. Here a gate afforded
communication between Tartarus and Lethe.
Now observe Maremorto. On the western side, does it not
lave the Tartarean Regions, and does not all the rest water the
Elysian Fields ?
Reflect, moreover, that, in verse 634, the Sibyl directs JSneas
to tak<3 the middle road because, did he follow that oq the right,
he would reach Lethe at the point where it laves Tartarus, not
Elysium. So, at the present day, the road that passes from
the Mefcato di Sabatd to Maremorto leads to its western
extremity, where it is bounded by the Monte di Procida, along
whose valleys is a great portion of the poet's Hell.
This being determined, go with this paper in your hands and
after having followed the track which Virgil has pointed out to
you by mythological, and I by modern, names — you will neces-
sarily find yourself on the eastern shore of this lake and will be
obliged to exclaim, spite of former prejudices. Here I am at the
* V. 894. Sunt geminse Somni portse ; quarum altera fertur
Cornea, qua veris facilis datur exitus Urabris ;
Altera candenti perfecta nitens elephanto ;
Sed falsa ad coelum mittunt insomnia Manes,
t V. 90O. ' Ille viam secat ad naves, sociosque revisit.
Digitized by
Google
154 viroil's infernal regions.
Seclusum nemus, et yirgulta sonantia silvis,
Lethseumque, domos placidas qui praenatat, amnem !
I said with this paper in your hands, and following the paths
I have pointed oul^ for if you do not take the trouble of follow-
ing me constantly and regularly from the grotto of Avemus to
the last stage of the journey, and do not consecutively examine
each link, you will never be able to trace the involutions of the
magic chain which the prince of Latin Poets has laid down.
This, and this alone, has been my great secret ; and this
will be the only means of securing to you the company of Virgil
through every portion of his, and your walk. Hundreds of
times, too, have I endeavoured to examine detached points
of this corography, and hundreds of times have I been so
puzzled that I had recourse to the usual decision of preceding
baffled commentators and exclaimed to myself — ^Ah ! here the
Poet must have been dreaming !
But constantly returning to the first entrance at the grotto of
Avemus, I repeated
Spelunca alta fuit, vastoque immanis hiatu,
Scrupea, tuta lacu nigro nemorumque tenebris :
Quam super baud uUsb poterant impune volantes
Tendere iter pennis : talis sese halitus atris
Faucibus effundens supera ad convexa ferebat:
(Unde locum Graii dixerunt nomine Aomon.)
Entering the cavern and winding among its obscure compart-
ments, I found myself
Vestibulum ante ipsum primisque in faucibus Orci,
Luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia CursB.
Coming out adverse in limine^ I was forced to exclaim
Hinc via Tartarei, qusB fert Acherontis ad undas :
and, by repeating again and again this troublesome mode of
advancing, I, at length arrived at Lethe. Here I heard a voice
beside me loudly repeat
Horrescit visu subito, causasque requirit
Inscius j^neas, quae sint ea flumina porro,
Quive viro tanto complerint agmine ripas.
Turn pater Anchises : AnimsB, quibus altera fato
Corpora debentur, Lethsei ad fiuminis undam
Secures latices, et longa oblivia potant.
Then ascending the hill, I found myself between the two
gates which the Poet represents at the last stage of his itinerary;
and I also going out by the one of white ivory on the left-
returned to the port — all engrossed by vain dreams.
Digitized by
Google
155
VERSES FOR THE MONTH.*
WHIT-SUNDAY.
No longer did the Apostles meet
Trembling, doubtfiil, hard of heart ;
He had come, the Paraclete,
Courage, faith, and grace to impart.
He had come their souls to inspire ;
He had come all things to teach ;
He had come in tongues of fire
With unwonted power of speech.
He had opened every mind ;
He had made each bosom glow :
Teachers thej for all mankind !
Forth to teach the world, they go.
They go ; and nations bow them down
Their sacred ministry to own :
Bow them down and crave to be
Made heirs to immortality.
And the Pagan deities give way ;
And those who, round them, used to pray,
Hark to the messengers of grace.
In every clime, in every place.
The seeds of truth are sown.
Far o*er the valleys where the mom
Lingers her tresses vnld to adorn
With gorgeous hues and glowing dies,
Cull'd from the flowers of paradise —
Hues that, alas ! soon lose their glow,
Chill'd by the cold, bad world below;
Far o'er the valleys of the East,
The poor are taught, the slaves released,
And still'd the rage of war ;
And gladly is the saving Word
By those same kings and magi heard
Who hail'd the Christmas star.
* From *' Church Hymns in English that may be sung to the old Church
Music, «ith approbation, and other Poems." By R. Beste, Esq., published
by Bums and Lambert.
Digitized by
Google
156 VERSES FOR THE MONTH.
And the spicj groves of Araby
Their sweetest fragrance shed :
And perfumes, o'er the emerald sea,
To hail the teachers sped :
And prayer and incense rose on high,
Thrice "happy" then was Afaby !
And Jordan shrank when it beheld
Its favoured race no more upheld ;
Beheld the queenly diadem
Tom from its proud Jerusalem ;
Beheld its temple overthrown,
O'erthrown the Jewish pride,
And Abraham's God the Gentiles own ;
That God — the crucified.
And soon the land of poesy.
The land of human lore.
The land of gods and liberty
Shall greet them and adore.
And o'er the vales where, poets tell,
Apollo and the muses dwell.
The Christian hymn shall rise ;
Where eYerj hill and every stream
With fablea gods and Naiads teem.
And where the azure skies
Are darken'd with the clouds that swell
From many a fane and oracle.
The smoke of sacrifice : —
Where sages tell that reason's vain.
And all its efforts but attain
To adore a "God unknown" —
There, there shall rise the preacher's voice,
And Athens hear it and rejoice.
And our Redeemer own.
And onward still the Apostles dare :
Danger and death but ope the way :
And Rome the mighty, Rome shall bear
The faith and learn to pray.
Bow down, proud city ! bow thee down :
For thousand gods believe in one.
That when thine iron rule is o'er.
He may far greater power restore
And give diee back a crown.
Digitized by
Google
VERSEiS FOR THE MONTH^. 157
Beceiye the faifh, and rule the wofid ! '
Though nations at thy feet are hurrd,
Oh what a fate is thine !
Far, mightier far, thy power shall be :
Man^s conscience shall be swayM by thee i
Thy rule shall be divine.
But on the Apostles speed them — On.
The tongues of parted fire,
The Spirit's grace that o'er them shone,
Allow them not to tire.
From the blissful vale of Parthenope
And the Sibyl's cavern hoar, '
From the happy hills of Italy,
From its vine-clad, smiling shore ;
They brave the Alps and each barbarous horde.
And to the West descend ;
And, on the mission of the Lord,
Still onwards, onwards tend.
How beautiful were the cork groves there
And the streams amid them gleaming !
How smiling the banks of the Tagus fair
And the land with richness teeming !
And Afric's sons did the cross upraise
On their glowing northern shore ;
And loudly swept the song of praise
The wide Sahara o'er,
It swept o'er the sands ; but none were there
To speed the holy strain ;
So angels caught it up in air
And hymn'd it o'er again.
And the barbarous sons of the stormy North
To greet heaven's messengers look forth.
And the dwellers of the misty isles
From their gloomy forests go :
From the gnarled oak and the misletoe.
To the faith of hope and smiles.
And the naked Druid's sway is shaken.
And his wondrous monuments forsaken.
And the men of the North desert the shrines
Of their bloody gods of war ;
And the meek cross triumphant shines
O'er Woden and o'er Thor.
Digitized by
Google
156 VERSES FOR THE MONTH.
But the world to the Apostles known,
Bounds not the faith thej taught :
The seeds of truth so widely sown.
Have a wider harvest brought.
In worlds beyond the ancient bounds
OJF earthy the prayer of faith resounds.
From beyond the Atlantic, it ascends :
And the hymn from the mighty Lawrence blends
With that from Andes' height.
And science, sweeping oceans o*er,
Bears the glad strain from shore to shore
And cheers the realm of night.
And the clustering isles of the Peaceful sea
Join in the holy harmony.
And the coral rocks, where the bread trees throw
Their food unasked to the crowds below,
Echo the blissful song :
And many a wild, neglected race
Hails the new messeugers of grace
It waited for so long.
Thus does the grace of Whitsuntide,
The grace bequeathed to-day.
Endure while all else fades beside
And realms on realms decay.
The Apostles went ; but others came
To teach men how to adore ;
And still the parted tongues of flame
Bum brightly as of yore.
Digitized by
Google
159
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN,
Cardinal de Gbegorio. — Thomas Haynes Bayly. — Canon
Andrea de Jorio.
When I was at Rome half a century ago (or not quite so much)
the statue of Pasquino bore, in its hand, the following dialogue : —
" A. Where are you going, my friend ?"
*'B. I am going to the Sistine Chapel to see the cere-
monies of Holy Week."
" A. But you will not be allowed to enter.''
"B. Oh yes, I shall; I have become a heretic.''
So did the facetious Romans remark upon the peculiar favour
with which the government of Cardinal Gonsidvi had always
treated our countrymen travelling through the Roman States.
It was done in kindness ; though, perhaps, the condescension
to their ignorance and impertinence was carried too far ; and
gave rise to that spirit of " fraternization " (if I may explain
myself by a misused fashionable word) which, at one time,
seemed likely to merge much English Catholic feeling in the
whirlpool of Protestant indifference. It was, indeed, painful to
see the airs which our travelling gentry (often not ^^ gentlemen
traveUers") gave themselves ; as they sauntered, arm-in-arm, up
and down die aisle of St. Peter's during the performance of
Tvhat they called " afternoon mass," or strewed die floor of the
Sistine Chapel with the bones of the cold chicken which the
ladies had consumed, during Vespers or Tenebrse, behind the
lattice work that enclosed them.
It is a fine room, that Sistine Chapel : and though the Gothic
architectural notions that have been springing up amongst us of
late years, recoilfrom the idea of Catholic ceremonies per-
formed, in the very presence of the Pope, in a " fine room,"
certain it is that neither the Sistine Chapel, nor any of the
apartments en suite with it are anything more than fine rooms,
without architectural adornments of any kind, Gothic or Gre-
cian, upon their bare walls. Painted pilasters, perhaps, may
be there to subdivide into compartments the glorious pictures
of MicbaBl'Angelo, Giulio Romano, or Raffaele : but I do not
remember thai the flat surfaces of the walls were broken or
adorned otherwise than by those pictures — unless, indeed, the
silken canopy that overshadowed the altar and the Papal
Digitized by
Google
160 RECOLLECTION^ OF EMINENT MEN.
throne, and broke the sight of Michsl Angelo^s Last Judgment,
could be considered an adoruTnent. - - ■ ■■ -
The Sistine Chapel was, however, a fine and lofty room : and
although I was not a ^^ heretic,*' as Pasquino had insinuated, I
had been able to fight my way into it through the halberds, or
•pil^es, and tin armour of the Swiss Guards who defended^ the
approach to every ceremony to which we thronged. In those
days, I had strength and youth, and was able to bear the brunt
of their onslaughts as well as any man : nay, I remember that
I, even succeeded in bearing out of the m^l^e a lady whom, with
'dishevellecj dress and hair, they were trampling under foojt,
aiid,^' after consigning her to her friends, in returning again to
the charge, and w;inning my way in, while a ruffiaiily English
"•^hereikic" knocked the tin helmet over the eyes of the " bear of
Berne " who was opposed to us.
All this i^ doubtless altered now : the commanding officers
having found out that a few palisades overlapping one another,
and forming a zig-^ag path, would prevent those behind from
pressing upon the crowds, however dense, who preceded them.
• I had a ticket of admission like the others ; and now carefully
putting it away, after it had so well answered its purpose, and
settling myself in the half diplomatic or court dress with which
I had never before been so roughly fajiiliarized — as Monsieur,
afterwards Charles the Tenth, did after he had fought a duel,
half Paris looking on, in those uncrumpled pantaloons iutb
Vhich he had been let down by the four valets who had uplifted
him in their arms that he might drop into them without making
the slightest crease or wrinkle (how poor Job Carks would have
enjoyed such assistance !)— settling myself in my court dress I
passed through the centre room and , entered the noble Sistine
Chapel. What a holy repose seemed to pervade the place and
to breathe around i The noise and the turmoil outside was
forgotten. The l|ght c^me . dimly from above and gleamed,
athwart the incense-loaded air, upon the great fresco paintings
that covered the walls — they first caught my eye ; — upon the
raised platform enclosed with gold trellice work like an aviary,
in which ladies, escaped from the aflfray, were ascending ; upon
the richly dressed Cardinals who were taking their seats on each
side — with their black train-bearers at their feet; upon the
Prelates and Monsignori behind them ; and lastly upon the
occupants of the seat in which I myself was to find room, and
who, dressed in modem court dress or military uniform, showed
harshly and inharmoniously with the ecclesiastical splendour
around.
For the magnificence of the full scarlet cloaks and ermine
mantles of the Cardinals was finely contrasted with the reiligious
Digitized by
Google
ICECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 161;
habit which some of them still continued to weax; and looking
Qpon the flowing beard which descended far adown the Camal-
dolese or Franciscan robes of two or three of them in noble*,
amplitude, it was impossible not to think of the old Roman
Senate sitting in majestic silence before the awe-struck barbarians.
But as yet, we have not, all of us, taken our seats. Some are
still arriving beyond the outer rail of the chapel or pausing,
diere to exchange a few words of friendly greeting or considerate
inquiry. With preoccupied minds and grave disregard of the
buttei^y travellers, who encumber the outer area, most of the
Cardinals and high dignitaries pass on to their places. The.
barly, good-hiunoured Cardinal Vidoni does indeed make a.
obuckling remark of congratulation to me that Lent is well-nigh
over: the little whiffling old Cardinal Caccia-Piatti (a cardinal:
deacon only like the other) does indeed whisper something
to a beautiful English girl beside me as he passes onwards :
the handsome French Bishop of Tempe returns, with grave
courtesy and as if conscious of his noble presence, my
friendly greeting : the saintly junior Cardinal Odescalchi moves
to his place, evidently absorbed in religious meditation: the
pale face of the young Cardinal Due de Rohan shows as care-
worn as ever, as if compressed into forced resignation to the/
Providence which had bereaved him of his wife — ^bumt to death,,
her clothes catching fire, when dressed to go to a ball : onwards
all these pass, intermingled with foreigners of every nation and
with ambassadors from every sovereign. Then came the bluff
old Cardinal Dean della Somaglia — most unpopular Secretary
of State,, who. wished to replace every thing as it had been in
the days of his youth, eighty years before : and then the thin,
tall, but gracefuUy-ben.ding figure of Cardinal de Oregorio
advanced between the lines on each side. His manner was.
more that of a noble courtier than of a churchman, as he kindly
and considerately greeted me and all those in whom he took an
interest ; and respected and beloved by us all, he passed, amid
kind words and gratified looks, to the inner chapel, where he
appeared to be immediately engaged in his devotions.
I was very well acquainted with Cardinal de Gregorio, and
during my several sojourns in Rome and afterwards, received
from his Eminence many marks of friendly interest. Unassum-
ing in manner, his whole deportment was so dignified and
courteous, his conduct so moderate, his reputation for ability
so universal, that he was much looked up to in Rome. It was
generally expected that he would be elected to the pontifical,
throne, whenever a. vacancy should occur.. Indeed, it was:
understood that some votes had been given in his favour in the:
conclave which had elected Cardinal dellav .Genga : and. still
Digitized by
Google
162 BECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
more of the sacred college are said to have wished his election
before the choice fell upon Oregory XVI. No anticipation of
the supreme dignity was however apparent in the manner or
conversation of the Grand Penitentiary Cardinal de Gregorio:
he lived imostentatiously, or surrounded only with the system of
cumbrous etiquette, which looks like ostentation to strangers,
but to strangers only.
For a great degree of serious and formal etiquette attends
the rank of a cardinal, whose worldly position is, indeed,
equivalent to that of a prince of the blood in other states, since
the sovereign is chosen out of the number. A cardinal can
never walk on foot vnthin the walls of Rome. A heavy old-
fashioned coach must convey him to the Villa Borghese or
some other quiet spot, where he may take exercise. On occa-
sions of ceremony, three of these crimson-painted carriages,
bedizened with gilding, were always requisite to convey his
eminence and his suite from place to place ; and three footmen
in liveries, bound by broad antiquated worsted lace, hung
on the footboard of every carriage. The number of retainers
which they are obliged to keep about them is a serious drain
upon the incomss of many, and, perhaps, originated the plan,
which obtained in England also until recently, of eking out
wages by presents.
1 was a frequent visitor at the house or palazzo of his Emi-
nence Cardinal de Gregorio. Over the outer door were the two
escutchions paipted, as over the doors of most cardinals and
Roman nobles; the one charged with the family arms, the
other with the letters 8. P. Q. R., which modern Roman wit has
interpreted not very creditably to modem Romans. In the
anteroom above stairs a servant paced up and down. In the
anterooms of most of the Roman noblesse it is a tailor, or one
employed in tailoring, who sits over a brazier behind a screen
in the immense hall, and points either to the book in which
the visitor may write his name, or to the door leading to the
inner apartment. With a glance at the large dusty throne and
canopy that stands in the outer room of all Roman nobles, the
visitor would pass into the next room, where many servants in
livery and poor clients lounged away the morning. One of
these would carry the name to the secretary or to the gentleman
in waiting, who, drest in black court dress vrith sword and
buckles, would guide him through the suite of handsome empty
rooms hung with old tapestry, to the comfortable boudoir
beyond. Here his Eminence sits beside an immense writing
table covered with books and papers. He rises and comes
forward— extending the hand, which all are expected to kiss.
Much the same ceremonial attends the departure of the
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 168
Tisitor. If the eall be returned by die cardinal iiT person, he
18 received with a degree of royal ceremonial; if it is not
to be so returned, his servant wiU bring cards on the following
day, coupled with a polite message respecting the health of the
paity so honoured ; and these cards and this message it is
understood must be requited with the present of a few shillinger
-—these are always expected by Roman servants from those'
also who have been invited to any entertainment given by their*
masters. I am not, however, aware that such was the system^
in the establishment of Cardinal de Oregorio, as he was a^
frequent visitor at my house in person. Pleasant, indeed, are
the recollections which I cherish of many members of ther
Sacred College. Amiable, unpretending and well-informed,
they rise before my mind^s eye, now decked in the gorgeous
lobes of ceremony, or, more frequently, in the little tight-
fitting suit bound with scarlet, the scarlet stockings and the
scarlet' cap, in which we used to sit and converse leisurely
on the interests of religion, or of literature, or on antiquarian
lore ; but never so pleasantly as with Cardinal de Oregorio on
the sanitary and agricultural state of the Campagna, or on the
secret history of the Church during the imprisonment of Pius
VI. in France. Whenever authentic records of those times
shall be published, the foresight with which every possible
contingency was provided for will astonish those who see, in
the dignitaries of the Church of Rome, only a few antiquated
old men. The most prudent measures had been devised for
the government of the Church in case the pontiff bad been
debarred from his holy office by his gaolers, or for the appoint-
ment of a successor in the event of his death. In all those
combinations, Cardinal de Oregorio had been a moving spirit ;
and though the Sacred College should have been dispersed
and its members again driven to conceal themselves in the
catacombs, such measures had been taken, that a known ruler
would never have been wanting to Ood's Church on earth.
Thomas Haynes Bayly.
«• Oh no, we never mention him ;
His name is never heard "
How completely is the writer of these pretty lines now for-
gotten! and yet, thirty years ago, who so popular as Tom
Bayly ? There was not a boarding-school Miss, a fashionable
coquette, or a love-sick swain in the kingdom — who did not sigh
forth his words with the pretty music to which Bishop had set
them. Every piano in the country knew them so well by
Digitized by
Google
16^ RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
sounding-boatd, that whatever air might be attempted to be
played upon it, the keys spontaneously seemed to recur to the
lays of Haynes Bayly as the motivo to which all other harmonies
were but variations.
Andy indeed, great as was the popularity of those ballads, I,
who have lived through many dynasties of fashionable song,
declare them to have been not undeserving the high favour tbey
enjoyed. Compared with those that have been since supplied
to the tuneful crowd, they contained, indeed, poetry of the high-
est, order: for the versification was fluent and well modulated;
the words were inoffensive ; and the ideas, when there were any,
were as natural as the music. Natural, I say : for, even in sober
Kngland, it is natural to us to sing. We all know that, every
child, from the time she is six years old, evinces a natural genius
f^r music and dedicates one-third of her waking existence to its
perfectibility: we know that piano-foites are found in every
drawing room (except in that of one certain Mend of mine ;)
and .that music enlivens every evening party by calling forth a
spirit of jpyousness and hilarity and sympathy in all who con-
verse around the singer. In every circumstance of life, what so
wrell as music can express the secret workings of the heart : and
who so well as Haynes Bayly has provided words suited to every
occasion, to every scene in the drama of genteel and drawing-
roopd Ipve ?
. f^ Oh no, we never mention her,'' could not but explain the
sorrows of many a heart-broken swain ; and anon he found
gentle consolation by warbling, in less desponding tones, the
next, verse which recorded how
•* Th6y'tell me she is happy now — the gayest of the gay
They hint that she forgets me ; but I heed not what they say :
Like me, perhaps, she struggles with each feeling of regret.
But if she loves as I have loved, she never can forget."
"Struggle" ,is ^ot, indeed, a melifluous word,j bvit. it foiiod
favour with the desponding one by expressing an energy of con-
tending passion that he thought almost sublime.
Then, what could better declare the gentle confidence of the
fiancee than the pretty ballad, words and tune— r
" Oh canst thou judge how dear thou art, how very dear to me.
How much 1 strive to win my heart from early friends for thee ? "
The symphony and words there are, in truth, pretty.
Many an old bachelor, too,
. '* Looked in the glass, and thought he could trace .
A sort of , a wrinkle or two . <
So he made up his mind to make up his face
And come out as good as new."
Digitized by
Google
IIECOLLECTIONS OF BMINENT MEN. 165
And those who had sorrows deeper than the i^ur&oe, trul^ felt
the words and air
''Who shall school the hearths affection?
Who shall banish its regret?.
If you blame my deep dejection.
Teach, oh teach me to forget."
Or wept soothing tears over the happj past as they heard one,
who had never known a pang, sing the sweet air and words
" I have known thee in the sunshine of thy beauty and thy bloom
I have known thee in the shadow of thy sickness and thy gloom ;
I have lov*d thee for thy sweet sake when thy heart was light and gay,
But alas ! I lov*d thee better when the light had past away."
. But I must not run through the whole catalogue of poor Tom
Bayly's songs as they uprise upon my mind knd bring before
me the ^^ light of other days.'* I wotdd show that the subjects
of his ballads were such that all those of the class for which he
v^Tote could sympathise in them, in the past, present, or a.ntici-
pations of the future ; I would explain to lovers of a younger
generation how it was that, amid wax lights and happy youthful
faces and ices and champagne, we were able to enjoy our
music more than they seem to do in these days which they
think so delightful ; and how it was that such words, interwoven
with Bishop's melodies — not mere harmonies, which Bxe now
thought sufficient — ^but gentle melodies that fixed themselves
upon the mind when first heard, — touched many and many a
heart and seemed to express its secret throbbings.
Hence, were the ballads of Haynes Bayly popular : and^ I
assert, deservedly so.
The writer of them was the son of a solicitor in Bath — ^who
had died long before the rise and fall of his tuneful offspring,
leaving him, it was understood, several hundred pounds a year :
and he married a pretty lady-like girl having aJmost as many
more. When I first knew him, he had been sevieral years before
the world as a writer. At first, he had published in the poetic
department of the Sath Herald newspaper under the designa-
tion of "Q in the corner:" but his fame had long before out-
stripped the limits of such a "poet's comer" and now walks
abroad
Ingrediturque solo et caput inter nubila oondit.
He first became known to me at a private party where, after
supper, he produced a new ballad — "Sigh not for Summer
Flowers." It was a rainy night: and, by a curious coincidencci,
a storm made itself heard outside with ike first verse, and wind
N
Digitized by
Google
166 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN«
and hail dashed against the windows to the acoompaniment of
loud thunder as the last verse was sung : —
"Round us 'tis deeply snowing.
Hark, the loud tempest blowing !
See the dark torrent flowing :
How wild the skies appear !
But shall the whirlwind moye us ?
No ; with this roof above us,
Near to the friends that love us
We still have sunshine here.
Sigh not for summer flowers ;
What though the dark sky lowers.
Welcome ye wintry hours :
Our sunshine is within."
Their extravagant and self-indulgent style of living is ofiten
reproached to literary men. I would not justify an unreason-
able expenditure : stUl I would observe that those who live by
their wits, must keep their wits bright and polished — must not
be expected to write and say sharp things, if their stomachs are
sharp-set. I will go further : and will remind plodding, prudent
people, that those who have to describe the events of die day,
to make sport out of the trifles that interest society, must go
into society — not only to study, to analyse, and to dissect it, —
but also to keep up their connections in it. Gould Tom Moore
have written "The Twopenny Post Bag,'' or "The Fudge
Family in Paris," if he had mingled only with the society
around Sloperton Cottage, and had ate and drank nothing but
mutton chops and small beer ? In my younger days — younger,
at all events, than these sad plodding ones — parliamentary
speakers used to prepare them by a bottle or two of Madeira :
two of the most eminent of them going into the House, could
then be fairly represented as saying —
" I see no Speaker, Hal ; do you ?"
** You see no Speaker? I see two ! "
Now-a-days, opium is said to answer the same purpose more
quietly but more insidiously. But if even these " grave and
reverend signers " find stimulants necessary to get up the steam,
surely a poor poet, or a literary man living upon his wits may
be excused for seeking, even in somewhat expensive society,
that excitement without which he finds his wit " flat, stale,
and unprofitable."
Far be it from me to justify any sinful excess : far be it from
me to justify any expenditure that "Mr. Oommissioner " might
say " was incurred without a reasonable prospect of means to
tneet it :" I am only reminding steady jog trot people whose
Digitized by
Google
BECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 16t^
mentally dull day is only lighted up by the sparks shed by
these fire-flies of literature, that they should judge more
charitably when they hear that one of them has died or gone
mad, and has left no provision for his wife and children. Let
them, then, come forwards and help them : let them not copy
the Scandinayian flies they have been likened to :
'* In the woods of the North, there are insects that prey
On the brain of the elk till his verj last sigh :
Oh genius, thy patrons, more cruel than they,
First feed on thy brains, and then leave thee to die."
All this, however, in no way excuses the extravagance of
Haynes Bayly, who had the command of an income quite
sufficient to oil the keys of his harp, independently of any which
that harp itself might bring in. But he chose to live in a most
prodigal style. He occupied one of the most showy houses in
Bath, the best house in Catherine-place ; and entertained more
extravagantly than most members of the first society there. It
was very wrong of us : but I fear that we used to drink our
friend's champagne with the more relish from knowing that the
tap would soon be out !
And yet they were such a pleasing couple, the poet and his
wife : and dressed in their rich iancy dresses of green velvet as
Catherine and Petruchio, they looked so interesting and so
loving ! I never knew a young married couple who appeared
to be more quietly attached to one another, or whose behaviour
in public was more worthy of imitation, more edifying. To be
sore, there was upon the young poet's forehead a shade of care,
perhaps a streak that denoted possible ill-humour ; but poets
are, we know« ^^ an irritable race," and his fair complexion and
light curling hair, and afiectionate wife looked as pleasant as
the sun in the sky as yet undimmed by yonder dark cloud that
rises slowly in the western horizon. Mrs. Bayly used to wear
an elegant bracelet — a gold and jewelled butterfly wrought most
beautifully in filagree : it was a present from the publisher of
his famous song, ^^ I'd be a butterfly," which had been so suc-
cessfiil that this graceful acknowledgment had been presented
to the lady over and above the five hundred pounds her bus*
band had received for it. I do not remember any song that
has been so popular as that. It was ground on every barrel-
organ — ^this we always used to think a criterion of fame and
of excellence ; it was sung by every ballad singer and cripple
in the streets ; it was parodied in every way by every witling
in the country — ^by me myself amongst others. I think it was
at the publication of my parody that my friend's patience gave
way, and he replied by parodying us all in the song begmning
n2
Digitized by
Google
168 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
** I'd be a parody, made by a ninny,"
In truth, he was ambitious of being more than a mere butter-
fly songster ; he wrote a severe answer to his own song, and
in the ballad
" Be a butterfly, then, a mere summer day's toy,"
showed how high were his aspirations. Thus, also, although
he seldom talked of his poetry, though the subject was dear to
him as it is to all authors, I remembei his being much gratified
when — an old author myself of some years' standing — I told
him how much pleased I was with the more elevated style of
his ballad on the Indian widow, and with the words and
imagery with which she mounts the funeral pyre : —
" Soon shall this body be mouldering ashes,
But my free soul shall be wafted above ;
When o'er the valley the fading light flashes,
Ada shall rest on the bosom of love."
But I admit that it was the quiet, every-day, social applica-
bility of his songs that secured their popularity. A higher
style of poetry would have lifted them beyond the sympathies
of those for whom they were composed. They were drawing-
room songs, intended for drawing-room singers; they repre-
sented drawing-room love to drawing-room lovers ; and whether
the young lady and young gentleman were accepted or refused ;
were starting upon their honeymoon, while favouring friends
looked on, or were parted by the same implacable and ob-
noxious appendages to love making ; whether the mother
sacrificed the daughter to ambition, or the daughter devoted her
lover to certain unhappiness because she feared that she might
not make him happy ; whether " the last links were broken" by
cruel words, or the divided ones remembered the ^* melody they
heard in former years ;" whether they said " they were too young
to wed," or marvelled "who should fill their vacant places" — for
all and every emergency to which boys and girls in their teens,
or older ones who ought to know better, are liable, a ballad
was provided ; simple, harmonious words were set to sweetly-
flowing music, which, once heard, each one could whistle or
warble as he or she went home at night from the concert.
Haynes Bayly tried his hand at novel writing, too ; and drew
upon himself considerable ill-will by a story in three volumes,
in which he satirized most of the leading people of his fashion-
iable world in Bath. It was a poor work. Then came the
crash ; he betook himself to Boulogne— like the rest. Family
quarrpl^^ also, (not with his wifie) embittered his days. He
Digitized by
Google
l^ECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 169
sent a circular to all his friends, requesting them to subscribe
to a work he would publish to raise a provision for his widow.
He little thought his wife would so soon be one! I forget
whether he died just before or after it made its appearance.
It was a poor little volume, printed at Boulogne and entitled
" Musings and Prosings." I was one of the subscribers to it ;
but was from England when my copy was delivered. I have
never paid for it, not knowing what is become of poor Mrs.
Haynes Bayly nor through whom to forward the money. If
this paper meets her eye and she will send me her address
under cover to the Editor of this Magazine, I shall be most
happy to forward it to her, and to assure her that I sympathise
in all the sorrows she has gone through.
Canon Andrea de Jokio.
There are few English people — beyond the mere herd of
travellers or pleasure-seeking loungers — ^who have made any
stay at Naples without becoming acquainted with Canon de
Jorio. To our Catholic coimtrymen he was recommended as
speaking English, and therefore, able to assist them in their
religious duties: to the scholar and the antiquary he was
endeared as an authentic cicerone to guide their peculiar studies ;
to all, as a man of most amiable manners, pleasant and instructive
discourse, and kindly feeling. He was an honorary member of
several learned institutions; was Governmental inspector of
public, instruction — an honorary officer also, one may think at
Naples ; and was the author of many books descriptive of the
antiquities of his country, and of the means to be adopted in
exploring them stiU further.
But antiquity is a relative term : the remains of Roman
dominion from Baja to Pompeii were looked upon by my friend
the Canon, (and it is a pleasure to me to recur thus to our
pleasant intimacy which commenced about twenty- seven years
ago) . these remains were looked upon by him as the toys of
children — new yesterday and broken to-day: the temples of
Poestum were more respectable, being evidently of Grecian
origin; but his delight was to plunge, through Magna Grecian
and Etruscan history, into the days of Egyptian rule in these
more than classic lands ; and to trace the evidences of successive
races as they had passed away and been forgotten. Little do
the promenaders of the blissful Villa Reale know of the interest
that lurks in every hiU around them : little do the mass of
visitors of the Museum suspect that, from one of the windows in
that establishment, they may overlook the burying-ground of
Santa Teresa and see the graves and the coffins of each race in
Digitized by
Google
170 JEIECOLLKCTIONS OF EMINENT MEN«
layers one beneath the other— from the Neapolitan whom they
are even now interring there, through graves and sarcofa-gi of
different shape and material, through layers of soil that divide
the different races that, for centuries, made their biuying-ground
at this same hill side, down to the coffins of the earliest inhabi-
tants of this early-inhabited region — all of which preserve their
distinctive characteristics and tell their tale to the antiquarv.
One of the most interesting works published by Canon de Jono
is on the method to be followed in examining these ancient
sepulchres so as to understand their distinctive characteristics
and not to injure their contents. Descriptive plates, represent-
ing the state of those he had himself opened with their skeletons
and furniture, illustrated the work.
Another of the learned Canon's books in which I took great
delight at the time, was a disquisition on the topography of the
sixth book of the iEneid : it asserted and, as I thought and
think, demonstrated, that Virgil's description pf the infernal
regions was a description of the real country between Baja and
Cuma; and I never went to feast on the oysters of Fusaro or
to lounge on the banks of the Lago di Avemo, without, in im-
agination, peopling all the region with the shades of the mighty
heathen dead. I only wonder that my £riend the Canon's love
of remote antiquity had not led him to suppose that, as Virgil's
description of Tartarus and Elysium agreed with these localities
and with those of his predecessors, so Homer also had described
this same country and no imaginary scene. If Englishmen
could feel an interest in anything other than railroads, free-trade,
or decrees on baptismal regeneration, I should like to see that
work translated and placed before them.*
Canon de Jorio used to complain much of the system that
obtained at Naples by which every writer of a book was com-
pelled, by custom, to present a copy of his work to every person
with whom he was acquainted, however slightly. This fashion,
which he said it was impossible to resist, destroyed the hope of
profit from any publication, and made printing a costly amuse-
ment. But literary men at Naples mixed little in the world.
Secluded, and uninfluenced by public opinion which is there all
engrossed by politics or the opera, they lived amongst them-
selves, studied, wrote, and — ^took snuff. I have known but few
who adopted any other mode of life ; unless they were revolu-
tionists who wished to disseminate in society their own political
opinions : and in such case, they were always followed from
* Oar valued contributor will be fpratified to see that his wish is fulfilled
in this very number of our Periodical. — £d. Cath. Mag. & Reg,
Digitized by
Google
T9E SPII^IT OF THE CHURCH. 171
boQse to housei by agents of the police who reported their steps
and drew suspicion upon their friends. Canon de Jorio mingled
not with these : though during a long life he had seen the many
changes his country had undergone and imparted to me more
information than any other man on its past and present ecclesi-
astical state, he disturbed not the government. Its appointed
time was not yet come.
He was an elderly man at the time I knew him ; and has long
since added another to the sepulchres he loved so well. But he
can have taken no interest in his own. *It was too modem.
THE SPIRIT OF THE CHURCH.
It is peculiarly interesting to watch the Church's progress,
through boisterous and peaceful times, from the period in which
she came forth, but just bom, from the confinement of an upper
room, to the present hour, when she has extended her sway or
her influence over the whole world. It is marvellous to see
how she has adapted herself to present circumstances; how,
sometimes, like a willow, she bent herself humbly down before
the storm until it passed over her ; how, at other times, like
the aged oak, whose ^' tough and stringy roots" have grasped
for centuries the mountain's bosom, she has firmly and un-
flinchingly withstood the tempest ; how she has not disdained
to wear, at times, the weeds of sorrow and the rags of poverty ;
and yet, when occasion might be, with what graceful deport-
ment and unaffected modesty she has put on the kingly crown
and worn the regal purple ! And strange it is to contemplate
what little favour she has almost always met with, what
numerous enemies she has ever been forced to encounter, and
these not merely among kings and princes and philosophers,
(whose interest it might be to arrest her progress), but even
among the ignoble and the illiterate herd. Even in her infancy
her cradle was rocked by the blasts of opposition and persecu-
tion, and her growth was cramped and stunted by the chains of
oppression which for years hung heavily around her tender limbs.
Stealthily, save at times, did she walk out in the open air ; and
to perform her most mysterious rites,, tremblingly did she steal
from house to house ; and when her head and champion was
bound in prison she did not dare to call aloud for his freedom,
but silently and with closed doors she prajed that bis bonds
might be broken asunder. Yet he, whose voice doth break the
cedars of Libanus, and whose spouse she was, did not please
Digitized by
Google
172 THE SPIRIT OF THE CHURCH.
to let her thus remain under the cloud for ever and in trembling
seclusion ; he soon gave her power and courage to make her
voice be beard upon many waters, and she stood up and made
** the flood to dwell," and with the gesture of her hand she
calmed the motion and the din of the stormy waves. She pre-
sented herself in the public councils of the nations, and nothing
fearing, upbraided them with their superstition. She stood in
the presence of kings, and with undaunted front, though bound
in a chain, spoke in her own defence. And when she could
not obtain justice from' them, she boldly demanded to be led
before Ccesar, that she might with him plead her cause. And
this was she who afterwards did not dare to show herself in
public, much less appeal to emperors, and hid her humbled
head ^'in deserts, in mountains, and in dens, and in caves of
ihe earth.''
It is this pliancy and adaptation of the Church to the circum-
stances of necessity that at once proves her heavenly origin. It
is this that shows that she is informed and animated by that all-
influencing spirit who breathes where and when he will or may
think fit. For if there be a system, be it of religion or politics,
which unbendingly strives ever to subdue all things to its sway,
and standing boldly and unblushingly, encounters opposition, and
returns frown for frown, blow for blow, that system bears upon
it the stamp of its own illegitimacy. Thus the Mahometan
religion, sprung from delusion and fostered in pride, could
brook no bounds. And to spread its unholy tenets among a
reluctant people it grasped the sword, and breathing slaughter
and havoc, planted the crescent, the symbol of its faith, upon
mosques built of the bones and cemented by the blood of con-
quered foes. It cared not to retire when opposition met it,
not even would it allow itself to be passive amid reluctance
and contradiction, but onward it swept like a scathing storm,
tearing down every barrier, removing the land-marks of nations,
and crumbling ancient institutions into dust
" Straight forward goes
The lightning^s path, and straight the fearful path
Of the cannon ball. Direct it flies and rapid ;
Shattering that it may reach, and shattering what it reaches."
But not so was it with the Christian religion. She did not come
to lord it over the nations. Meekness was her armour, and love
her sword. She led not mailed bands in her train, with spear,
and bow and terror-striking looks. She loved not to walk
through fields red with blood, or memorialize her victorious
progress by the bleaching bones of her enemies. But she would
turn aside where she could not win by smiles,— she would pass
Digitized by
Google
THE SPIRIT OF THE CHUBCH. 173
£rom town to town, from country to country, not in pursuit of
tearful victories, but dispensiog happiness and comfort to those
whom she subdued.
" The road the human being travels,
That, on which Blessing comes and goes, doth follow
The river's course, the valley's playful windings.
Curves round the corn-field and the hill of vinei,
Honouring the holy bounds of property !
And thus secure, tho' late, leads to its end." — SchiUer's Piccolomini.
Neyertheless that road may not always be smooth : — and the
traveller may sometimes meet with rough and craggy points, and
his feet may be lacerated by briars and thorns. Thus varied
has the path of the Church ever been. And her first days
were but the type of those which were to succeed : and her first
conduct therein was but the pattern of that unvaried woof which
she was destined to weave until the end of time.
The persecutions which she had to encounter arose princi*
pally from those who were seated in high places; and were
two-fold — arising principally from tyrants, who by fire and
sword endeavoured to destroy her from the face of the earth,
and secondly, from those, who, by their public scandals or
rapacious encroachments upon her possessions or prerogatives,
preyed upon her very vitals. And what was the demeanour she
maintained towards them ? As in the first days, so her conduct
was moulded by the circumstances of the times or the characters
of those against whom she had to act. For hers was no ambition
to ascend to the height of dignity or of power, merely for the
sake of pride or of show — she cared not, by deeds of violence or
high enterprise, to wear a crown, however brilliant, that was
ever so slightly sullied in the winning — and she could be as
contented in the depths of the pathless forest, as on the stage of
an admiring world. But when she could act with courage and
nerve, without betraying her dignity or her rights, she feared
not to gird herself, and buckle on her armour, against the
assaults of her foe.
About the middle of the fifth century, Attila, the general of
the Huns, breathing carnage and slaughter, and fired with the
lust of conquest, sent his ambassadors to the courts of Ravenna
and Constantinople with this haughty message: ''Attila, ray
lord, and thy lord, commands thee to provide a palace for his
immediate reception.'" Never had a more daiing and relentless
savage issued out of the frozen wilds of the populous North,
" When her barbarous sons
Came like a deluge on the south, and spread
Beneath Gibraltar to the Lybian sands." — MUton.
Digitized by
Google
174 THE SPIBIT OF THE CHU£CH.
fie spared neiiber age nor sex where resistance was off^ed ;
and be passed, as a blight, oyer the countries, which he invaded:
for it was a saying well becoming bis ferocious pride, that the
grass never grew on the spot where bis horse had trod.
Scorning the easier conquest of the effeminate Greeks, he
determined to meet a foe that was worthy of his valour, and he
directed bis march towards the fertile plains of Italy. With fire,
and sword, and desolation, this Scourge of God (so be bad loved
to call himself) led an innumerable host of barbarians across the
Alps, and laid siege to Aquileia. After three montbs of toil and
anxiety around its walls, he took it by assault ; and, to revenge
himself for the time and the labour he had spent in its capture,
levelled it with the dust. He then resumed his march, and
leaving smoking and prostrate cities as the monuments of his
success, he startled the inhabitants of Rome herself with the
dread of impending ruin. Destruction hung as a thunder-
fraught cloud, over the devoted city awhile ere it fell. Home
dreamed not that a gentle breath was about to arise in the
heavens and scatter its force. She abhorred him as the enemy of
her religion and government. But her emperor, Valentinian,
the grandson, though not the successor of the valour, of the
great Tbeodosins, with cowardly heart, had shut himself up in
Ravenna, where he might live without fear of being annoyed by
the enemy. The general, ^Etius, with only a handfid of men, was
not in a position to confront a swarm of barbarians. Upon whom,
then, doth the eternal city build her hopes of safety ? Come
forth magnanimous Pope, and frustrate the designs of cruelty
and impiety, and sacrifice, if necessary, thy life to the welfare
of thy people ! St. Leo presents himself to plead the cause of
the city, and arrayed in his sacerdotal robes, and accompanied
by two lay dignitaries, boldly proceeds to the camp of the bar-
barian. They were introduced to the tent of Attila, " as he lay
encamped at the place where the slow-winding Mincius is lost
in the foaming waves of the lake Benacus, and trampled with
his Scytbiau cavalry the farms of Catullus and Virgil.*' The
priest of God, with venerable aspect and commanding brow,
stood before the savage monarch and won his favour. With the
good of his people and the cause of the Church at heart, he
spoke forcibly and eloquently to the feelings and perbaps to the
fears of the conqueror (for it is said that he was supported by an
apparition of SS. Peter and Paul, who menaced him with death,
if he refused to listen to the entreaties of the holy Pope), and
at length prevailed on him to abandon bis cruel designs upon
the capital of Christendom. The barbarian led off his savage
troops ; and the fortitude and courage of the Church won
from the crudest of tyrants security and peace.
Digitized by
Google
THE ftPUtIT OF THB CHUBOH. 17$
But not alone h^s she to ooaten^ with tboBe that are without,
— sometimes she is forced to take up arms against her Qwn
children. The wild wintry torrent that comes tumbling down
from the mountains, spuming every opposition, drags every
thing along in its resistless career through the valley : apd the
bad example of the sceptred sinner, if allowed to pass with
impunity, will be a subject of scandal to those who tread in a
humbler sphere. So the Church, whose heart beats lovingly
and fondly for all, will not allow her voice to be silent where
there is danger, but like her great precursor, vnll boldly rush
into the presence of majesty, ^d exclaim, as he, *^ It is not
lawful for thee." — Math. xv. 4.
In 390, a sedition had been enkindled in Thessalpnica.
Botheric, the general of the Imperial forces in lUyricun^, had
cast into prison a fayourite charioteer of the circus, for leaving
seduced one of his servants. When the day for the public
games had arrived, the thoughtless people coiUd not brook the
absence of their choicest charioteer^ and loudly demanded hi^
Uberty. The general was deaf to their calls ; and the populace
disappointed of their wonted amusement, rushed into deeds of
sedition. The feeble garrison could not save the general and
some of his officers from the hands of the infuriated people, and
their mangled bodies were dragged about the streets to gratify
their revenge. When the news of this event reached the ears
of the Emperor Theodosius, he determined to inflict a severe
punishment upon the guilty perpetrators, till his fiiry was calmed
down by the mild entreaties of St. Ambrose and some other
bishops, and he promised to grant th^m a full pardon. Then,
goaded on by the flatteries and false representations of his
minister Rufiuus and other courtiers, he repented him of his
promise, and sent a commission to the commander in lUyricum
to exercise a signal chastisement upon the offending city. A
body of soldiers were let loose upon her, and they sheathed not
their swords until seven thousand had fallen a sacrifice to the
vengeance of the £mperor. When St. Ambrose was apprised
of this cniel slaughter, his heart ^as rent with grief, and retiring
from Milan to indulge his sorrow and to escape fi!om the
presence of Thepdosius, who was expected to arrive there in a
few days, he wrote him a letter expressive of his abhorrence of
the act, and exhorting him to penance. Soon after this he
returned to the city, and the Emperor, according to his custom,
repaired to the cathedral to perform his devotions. But could
the Church thus quietly receive him to her embraces? St.
Ambrose met him at the porch of the church, and forbad him to
enter its sacred prednpts. He told h>m .that the purple could not
cover his crime, and that it must be expiated by penance alone.
Digitized by
Google
176 * THE SPIEIT OF THE CHURCH.
Tbeodosius offered to extenuate his gailt bj tbe example of
David. But the intrepid Bishop answered, ^^ Iscutus es errantem,
sequere paenitentem : ^' and he, who was aocustomed to awe
princes into silence and respect by his presence, trembled at
the voice of the minister of God. Acknowledging the magni-
tude of his crime and the justness of the holy Bishop^s severity,
he submitted to the penance which was imposed upon him. He
beat his breast, and tore his hair, and wept ; and that generation
might witness the spectacle of a king, his sceptre laid aside, his
diadem unworn, kneeling in humble posture among the public
penitents, soliciting the prayers of the faithful. He showed the
sincerity of his penance by drawing up a law that between tbe
sentence and the execution in future, a respite of thirty days
should be allowed the criminal. The unbelieving philosopher
may indeed smile at the pusillanimoas condescension of the
Emperor, but the true believer will see in him but filial obedience
and respect ; and the world will acknowledge that the Church
here gained one of her nobbst victories by intrepidity and
courage.
But she has not always acted so. It may not always be
advisable to draw out our troops at once on the battle field, and
join hands in close conflict with the enemy.
" There exists
A higher than tbe warrior's excellence." — Schiller,
Suffering, mildness, and calm endui-ance are the proofs of high
magnanimity, and will effect more than determined opposition.
And it is herein that the Church doth shine most conspicuously ;
for it is the night which brings out the lustre of her stars.
Relentless war may command the respect, and dazzle the minds
of men, but it is submission, calmness, and unresisting trials,
that generate
" The calm, the blissful, and the enduring mighty."
Anthimus, who was supposed to favour the sect of the
Acephali, had been translated from the humbler see of Trebi-
sond to fill the more important chair of Constantinople. Through
the influence of Pope Agapetus, he was banished by the Emperor
Justinian, and St. Mennas was chosen and consecrated bv the
Pope himself for the forfeited see. In 536, Belisarius) the
Imperial general, flushed with previous conquests, passed with
his victorious troops into Italy, and expelling its Gothic masters,
planted again the Imperial standard upon the Capitol. The
Empress, Theodora, thought this a favourable time to extort
from St. Silverius, who had succeeded St. Agapetus in the chair
of St Peter, a reluctant consent to acknowledge the banished
Digitized by
Google
THE SPIRIT OF THE CHURCH. 177
Anthimus for the lawful bishop of Constantinople. But she
found him as little inclined to forfeit the rights of the Church
as bis sainted predecessor ; and neither prayers, entreaties, nor
threats could prevail upon him to fiEiYOur the scheme. But the
Empress, violent as she was crafty, determined not to be baffled ;
and flattering the ambition of Vigilius, an archdeacon of the
Roman Church, then at Constantinople, she promised to set him
on the Papal throne, and enrich him with a sum of money, if he
would promise to condemn the Council of Chalcedon and
receive to communion the deposed Eutychian patriarchs,
Anthimus, Severus, and Tbeodosius. The bait was too tempt-
ing to the proud aspirations of the young man for him to refuse
the conditions, and he yielded himself a ready instrument to the
daring violence of the Empress. She forthwith despatched him
to Belisarius with a letter, which ordered him to effect the
expulsion of St. Silverius from, and the election of Vigilius to,
the Papal throne. The noble spirit of the warrior recoiled from
tbe execution of such a deed : and hands, which had been red*
dened thoughtlessly in the blood of thousands, feared to lift them^
selves against the anointed of God. But at length overcome by the
entreaties of his wife, and spurred on, perhaps, by the threatened
displeasure of the Empress, the weak general exclaimed, ^^ The
Empress commands, I must therefore obey.'' The enemies of
the holy Pope had conspired to effect his ruin in any possible
way, and they accused him to the general of treason. He was
summoned to the head-quarters of Belisarius to answer the fiEtlse
cbarge. Happy in his innocence, yet aware of the unjust
designs of his enemies, the Pope set out with some ecclesiastics
to meet his impending fate. When he arrived at the pa]ace of
the general, his attendants were detained in a separate room^
and be was ushered alone into the presence of Belisarius. The
humbler of Persia, and conqueror of Africa and Italy j received
him seated at the feet of his proud wife, who reclined on a couch'.
The successor of St. Peter was loaded with reproaches from the
mouth of an ambitious woman : remonstrance was in vain, and
he was violently stripped of his pontifical robes, and clad in the
rude garb of a monk, was hurried into banishments Vigilius
was immediately elected by intrigue or fear to wear the tom-off
honours : and conscious of the instability of his throne as long
as St. Silverius lived, he studied to build it up, although it might
require the sacrifice of a fellow-creature. For when Justinian,
who had been apprised of bis unjust expulsion, had ordered the
Pope to be conducted back to Rome in order to have another
trial, he contrived to have his sacred person delivered into his
own hands, and sent him into a little inhospitable island, where
in a short time he was released from his sorrows by hunger, or^
Digitized by
Google
178 THB SPIRIT OF THE CHURCH.
may be, by the hatid of an assa&sin. Yet, sthtnge to say, herein
the Church was triumphant : what once was poison now became
a saving remedy. It was one of her own ungrateful children
"who inflicted the unsightly wound upon her, and the same hand
which struck the blow was now held out to heal it. Vigilius
immediately repented him of his crimes, he disclaimed all con*
section with Eutychianism and its abettorsyhe zealously main-
tained the rights and the faith of the Church, and many were
the struggles and frequent the trials which he afterwards endured
in her defence.
But we have an example nearer home of the Churches meek
forbearance. Thomas Becket, bom in the capital of this once
Catholic land, was a man of spirit, learning, and piety, and with
right good-will and noble prudence he served and guided the
interests of his country as Lord Chancellor of England. So far
had he ingratiated himself in the £eivour of his sovereign by his
wisdom and zeal, that he was selected by him to fill the archi-
episGopal throne of Canterbury, which had been vacated by the
death of Theobald. Notwithstanding the remonstrances of the
holy man, he was elected for the vacant honours on the eve of
Whit Sunday, in 116^2, and by command of the Pope took upon
himself the highest ecclesiastical authority in his country. For
many years she had basked beneath, the rays of courtly favour, but
now the crozier and the mitre, as he had before foretold, began to
weaken by their shadow the glare of the royal sun. Henry II. was
a daring and a grasping man, and under cloak of former privi-
leges or reasons of state, he had sacrilegiously applied to his
own use a great amount of the Churches revenues. St Thomas
boldly discountenanced and loudly condemned this unjustifiable
rapine, and determined to assert the rights and the property of
the Church. But affectionate remonstrance, gentle reproofs,
and meek resistance, were the only weapons of his wieiiiiare.
The King was enraged at the opposition of the Archbishop, and
he, of whom Peter de Blois said in his own times, *^ He is a
lamb so long as his mind is pleased, but a lion, or more cruel
than a lion, when he is angry," resolved not to submit. The
King in council, declared his goods to be confiscated, and
thenceforth commenced a cruel persecution against him. The
royal wrath was not directed against the holy Archbishop alone,
but it scathed, with its pestilential breath, the domestics,
relations, and even friends of tlie innocent man. He fled from
the scene of his sorrows, that the royal anger might be cooled
down by the absence of its object. His friends and domestics
were sent after him, and the Archbishop^s heart was torn with
grief at the sight of so many innocents, who were banished from
dieir home and hearth for his sake alone. But their tears and
Digitized by
Google
THE SPIRIT OF THE CHURCH. 179
tbeir sufferings did not weaken bis resolutions/and listening not
to flesh and blood, he still determined to stand upon his holj:
resolves. Justified by his Holiness, and sued by the King of
France, on bended knee, to pardon a momentary disapprobation
of his conduct, he committed his cause to God, and in the
secrecy and sanctuary of prayer advocated the interests of the
persecuted Church. The King, tamed by remorse, or perhaps
convinced of the impossibility of changing the Archbishop's
mind, at length desired a reconciliation : and when St. Thomas
was conducted into his presence, with yearning heart and open
affection he received him, praying that all their past differences
might be buried in oblivion. The reconciliation, however, was
but partial on the side of the King ; for he did not as yet sur-
render the property of the Church. The Archbishop, however,
determined to repair to his desolate flock : and, oh ! how bound-,
ing were the hearts, how q)arkling the eyes, how loud tha
acclamations on that day, which saw the retoming shepherd
move along the streets of Canterbury to his cathedra]. But his
enemies again accused and misrepresented him to the King ;
and, in the height of his blind passion, Henry expressed his
wonder that no one was found daring enough to rid him of so
troublesome a bishop.
" 0 curse of kings,
Infusing a dread life into their words,
And linking to the sudden transient thought
The unchanging irrevocable deed ! " — SchiUer,
Four young men, whose lives was to live upon the smiles of their
prince, girded themselves for the bloody act, and in the cathe-
dral, and at the foot of the holy altar, and in the presence of
his affrighted clergy,, the blood of the innocent victim wa$
poured out to satisfy the revenge of the monarch. Still the
Church was not conquered. The blood of her dying champion
but served to cement more firmly the fabric of her glory. From
that day the garland on the kingly brow began to fade, and
when its honours and its leaves were ere. long trodden in the
dust, the princes of the earth bowed themselves low to do
homage to the authority and power she possessed.
Thus has the fortune of the Church ever alternated between
honour and dishonour — asserted vigour and seeming weakness.
Yet has she ever borne herself nobly amid all her varying trials.
She hath witnessed the downfal of empires and the crumbling
of ancient institutions, — she hath presided over the birth of the
longest line of kings and beheld its extinction in the last heirless
link — she hath seen the world change masters, from the proud
rule of the Roman aristocracy, to the multiplied form of modem
Digitized by
Google
180 THB SPIRIT OF THE CHURCH.
goTernment. Through all and in all has she liyed, and to all
has she adapted herself, being weak with the weak and strong
with the strong — siding not with party spirit, but fitting herself
into the cireumstances whereinto she may have been thrown.
Thus did she act, for example, in the late reyolution which took
place in France. Is it marveUous that she should have survived
so long and with such honour to herself? There may have
been times, indeed, in which her fato seemed to be sealed, and
in which, being stripped of some of her branches, she stood a$
a dishonoured trunk.
*' But in the sap within
Lives the creating power, and a new world
May sprout forth from it^ — SckUler,
And so she lived and pushed forth new branches and new buds,
and not many suns arose ere she was crowned with more
abundant honours than before. Tyrants and persecutors have
passed away — cities and rock-built castles have crumbled into
dust: but the Church stands as vigorous, as healthy, and as
green as on the day of her birth. ** Tell me not of walls and
arms," exclaimed the Golden-mouth of Constantinople. " Walls
grow old by length of time ; but the Church never ages. Bar-
barians demolish walls ; but not even devils conquer the Church.
This is proved by the testimony of facts. How many and how
mighty were they who fought against the Church and perished
in the contest ? But she, ever the same, reaches unto heaven ;
so far doth she extend her sway. She is opposed, and she
overcemes-^she is surrounded by snares, and she comes forth
free-^she is attacked by wrongs or contumely, and she stands
lip more glorious — she is wounded, and yields not to the scars —
howerer she may be tossed, she is not submerged — ^she endures
wild storms, and she doth not suffer shipwreck — she wrestles,
but she doth not surrender — she fights, but she is not over-
come.^— In Eutropium, And such will ever be her lot unto
(he end of time, and such her unconquered spirit. Many skies
^ill scowl above her, and many suns will shine down peace, and
itnany storms will bluster around her, ere the heaven-protected
lark has found ker haven at last. N.
Digitized by
Google
181
THOUGHT AND FEELING.
A minstrel lay in tranee or dream
Beneatfa a spreading Undents shade ;
While many a changing, fitful gleam
Of fancy o'er his features play'd.
He felt as if his poet-flame
In wasting embers would expire ;
As if not e'en the voice of fame
Oould wake again his tuneless lyre.
^' 'Tis o'er ! The notes of blissful song,"
He faintly said, or seem'd to say,
^ To other, happier bards belong :
From me, the gift is past away.
^ My lyre is mute, and mute the strain
That gladden'd once my lonely bower.
And oh ! 'tis something worse than pain
' To feel no more the minstrel powen"
" Thou hast not lost the minstrel power,"
A rising vision fondly said.
" Think not so much; but only pour
Thy feelings forth : they are not dead."
And kind that gentle form appears ;
With downcast look and pensive, smile.
Which tells that oft unbidden tears
Her solitary hours beguile.
Her eye is full of soul and thought ;
Her tones — the music of the heart,
Which, when by inspiration caught.
Fond dreams of hope and love impart.
^^ Arise, thou minstrel, thought-opprest;
Let Sensibility avaU,"
She says, " to move thy labouring breast,
And tune the chords when Thought would fail."
o
Digitized by
Google
182 THOUGHT AND FEELING.
The Minstrel owned her magic spell ;
And, starting from his thoughliul mood,
Told all he long had fear'd to tell—
Heart-felt, if hardly understood*
For nought avails the Poet's zeal,
And nought Imagination's hue :
The Bard must more than think — ^must feel :
Must feel his every vision true.
^Tis Sensibility alone
Can wake the Minstrel's heart to song ;
When every thought and every tone
To some heart-worshipp'd form belong.
And oh ! 'tis sweet when those who love,
Can link themselves in magic chain ;
And loving ever, ever prove
How true the Bard's impassion'd strain.
But ofit two weeping willows stand
On either side a brook, and bend
As those who set them there had plann'd
In alter years their boughs should blend.
And while they bend and strive to unite.
Yon brook, to fancy's eye, appears
As though its waters, pure and brigh^
Were form'd by those sad willows' tears.
How many thus, whose hearts incline
In holy unison to meet.
Are yet apart compell'd to pine
By waj^ard thought — not feeling sweet.
E.
Digitized by
Google
183
ADDRESS
BY THE EDITOR OF THE
CATHOLIC MAGAZINE & REGISTER.
Several kind correspondents express their hope thai the
^^ Catholic Magazine" is flourishing nnder its new manage-
ment : others send ns letters requesting us to forward to them
the numbers as they appear: and others again, in firiendly and
private conversation, thinking to fix upon us the official character
of Editor, take out a shilling and ask us to sell them a copy.
To all these kind friends, and to others unknown, we may
usefully and pleasantly address a few lines.
And first, we may answer, The ^^ Magazine and Register"
is flourishing : the sale of it is much increased and is increasing.
Although we call this the sixty-third number of the periodical —
tracing horn the first appearance of that which, by the name of
^^ Dolman's Magazine," the '^Orthodox Journal" and the
^'Weekly Register," has continued, through several phases and
under difierent management, untjl the present time — ^yet the
public have understood that, from the first of last March, t2ie
publication ofiered itself under what chairmen of railroads call
an entirely "liew proprietary and directory ;" — they have under-
stood that with a change of proprietor and of editor, it would
adopt a different system ; and, with increased devotion to the
pleasure of former patrons, would endeavour to supjdy the
requirements of new subscribers. Hence the division of our
publication into two parts.
As a Magazine, we hope that it will supply that variety of
goods which the customers of all Monthly Publications think so
delectable ; that it will meet their wants whether they seek light
reading, literary or antiquarian disquisitions, theology, morality,
polities^ or poetry: as a Register, we intend that it should
record all the passing events of the day which our readers, as
Catholics, may wish to know and to preserve. Many who may
consider that these are not sufficiently numerous to supply
matter to a newspaper, and who, for mere worldly information,
would rather have recourse to the columns of the daily press,
yet wish to be informed of what Catholics, in their religious
character, really are doing throughout the world, and to pre-
serve memorials of all events important to religion. To do this,
is the purport of that division of our work that we call the
Register. Here, our Subscribers may depend upon finding a
notice of all passing events of Catholic interest, and a record of
o2
Digitized by
Google
184 ADDRESS BY THE EDITOR.
all which (like the judgment in the Gorham and Connolly oases
in our last number) must be worth preserving from the per-
manent effects they may have upon religion.
But the title '^ Catholic " is superior, is anterior, is predo-
minant to our other designations. Though we may, in this
analysis of our name, remind our readers of the ^^ three gentlemen
rolled into one," we assure them that our life, our soul, our
inspiration is derived from Catholicism, is devoted to the
interests of our faith. We raise no banner in opposition to
ecclesiastical authority : we presume not to sit in judgment upon
it : we offer ourselves to promote its wishes, to support its
decisions. All our contributors, all our writers are Catholics:
all are animated by the same spirit : all pray that, in the words
of our motto, there should be '^ one fold and one Shepherd.^
We conclude with a request to those who, as mentioned at
the beginning of this address, desire us to send them our
publication or tender to us their shillings: we were told the
other day that the Editor of the Magazine was ^^ a very,
very old man :"' certain it is that we are lame ; that we require
a thick stick to support our tottering steps ; that our delight is
to sit at our desk ; that we have little leisure to move from place
to place : — ^let, then, our kind friends desire any bookseller in
their ovm several neighbourhoods, to procure the " Catholic
Magazine and Register " for them. All country booksellers
in England, Scotland, and Ireland have parcels from London at
least once a month ; and will be glad to send for our Magazine,
which will be always published on the first of eveiy month, when
they send for other works. Their agents in London manage all
this : we make it worth their while to do so. Though our pub-
lishers in London are at 9, Rupert Street, Leicester Square, and
At 48a, Paternoster Row ; though J. Boyle is our Edinburgh
and G. Bellew our Dublin agent, yet any bookseller in anj
town or village will know how to procure the publication, and
will gladly do so, without any extra charge.
In conclusion, we would remind our venerable clergy and all
well-wishers, that the more intelligence of passing events they
forward to us from their several localities, the more will the
interest and the usefulness of our Register and correspondence
be extended and increased. Whatever news they direct to us,
shall be fiiithfiilly chronicled. So a German tourist, to whom
we recently gave some piece of trivial information, exclaimed,
^^ I vill but you in mine booke und you soil be immortal.*'
Zondony 9, Rupert-st^ Leicester'sq,
April 26th, 1850.
Digitized by
Google
185
REGISTER
or
NEW PUBLICATIONS. CORRESPONDENCE. AND EVENTS.
The Editor of the Catholic Magaziki ahd Bkgtstbb desires that his Corres-
pondents and Contributors may alone be held responsible for the opinions and
sentiments that each may express. But he invites onr Venerable Clergy and all
Catholics to send him information on all matters of religious interest in their
several neighbourhoods.
NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.
The Children of Mary ; or JAves of several Young Penon* of the Maiton
des Oiseaux, Paris: translated from the French, 1 Vol. 18mo, pp.347.
Bums and Lambert.
The lives of these holy children breathe a sweet and pious calm, which
hardly seems and, indeed, is not of this world. The compilation is an
excellent work to place in the hands of young girls of the age of its own
saindy heroines. The account of their virtues is calculated to prove to
children that godliness may be attained at the earliest age and may be turned
to the benefit of others : that it is practicable. The lives of the canonised
saints sometimeis deter weak ones from attempting to follow them : as if their
example were too far exalted above the ways of ordinary life for common
Christians to imitate. This pretty volume shows that all may be children
of Mary and, consequentlj^i children of her divine Son. We have much
pleasure in recommending it.
The Chiles Guide to Devotion^ with engravings. 18mo. Bums and Lambert.
This pretty volume will not answer the purpose of a prayer book : the
prayers it contains are not sufficiently numerous for every-day requirements;
whUe the hymns, detached from the services to which they belong, will avail
neither children nor grown up devotees. But the little book is elegantly got
up : contains many well-executed engravings : and may be recommended to
those who would make a pretty little present at small cost to piously-disposed
children.
Julia Ormondj or the New Settlement. By the Authoress of the ''Two
Schools.'' 1 Vol. 18mo, pp. 220. Dolman.
A pretty book : a sweet pretty book. Buy it.
Remarks on the proposed Education Bill. By W. B. Ullathome, D.D.,
Bishop of Hetalonia and Vicar-Apostolic of the Central District. Burns
and Lambert.
It is unnecessary to dwell at length on this able pamphlet. We would
gladly have transferred to our pages some passages of it — marked by the
sterling argument and the nervous eloquence that is constant in the writings
of his Lordship of the Central District, but that his publication has already
answered the purpose for which it was put forth. The obnoxious Bill has
been virtually defeated in the House of Commons ; and we have only to
express our gratitude to Dr. Ullathome for the large share he has contri-
buted to produce so satisfactory a result.
Digitized by
Google
186 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
The Eldef^s House j or the Three Converts. 1 Vol. ISmo^ pp. 234. Dolman.
There is an affectation of abrupt terseness in the style of this writer which
detracts from the merits to which he may fairly lay claim : and the story
itself is rather forced. But, to the bulk of readers, H will not be less inter-
esting on this account : while the manner in which reUgious discussions are
intermingled wi^ it, will give it additional interest to many and usefulness.
Report of the Catholic Poor-Sehool Committee for 1849.
This is an important document as giving a correct view of the statistics of
Catholic education in England. It is drawn up in a clear and business-like
manner; and does honour to the Committee by evincing the great attention
they have given to their most important and most interesting labour. The
Report is a hopeful one and expresses the satisfaction of its zealous framers,
at the position of the poor-schools and the increased contributions which
they have received. We wish we could see cause for this contentment r
but though we may rejoice that the contributions are larger than they have
been, we feel that they are still disgracefully small. Let every man, woman
and child in England be assured thiat more will be expected of them for so
holy an object.
CORRESPONDENCE.
To the Editor qf the *' Catholic Magazine and Register. '^
Sib. — ^A correspondent from Rome writes thus on the 25th of March.
"The return of the Holy Father to his Capital is no longer uncertain.
Amongst other proofs of his determination, I am able to cite the foUowing
letters from Cardinal Antonelli to Prince Doria, dated Portici, the 19th."
'' I have received with the greatest interest your Excellency's letter of the
l6th inst., full of expressions of devotion and attachment to the Sovereign
Pontiff. I have the pleasure of assuring you of the very great satisfaction
of the Holy Father at your offer, to receive him in the ancient feudal resi-
dence of your illustrious family at Valmontone. Wherefore, although his
Holiness had intended merely to pass Valmontone on his way to Valeti,
nevertheless, wishing to satisfy your Excellency's earnest desires, as well
as those of the. good people of the town, he will remain a short time to
bestow his benediction on yourself and family, and on the said people.
Therefore, few preparations will be necessary, as his Holiness will take only
a slight refreshment. It will be my duty to give you timely notice of the
precise day of his HoUness's arrival ; and I am thus happy to have it in my
power to correspond in some measure with your loyal desires. I beg to re-
new the sentiments of high consideration with which I am your Excellency's
futhful servant, G. Card. Antonelli.''
We understand also that the reigning Queen of Sardinia has sent 50O
francs or £20 to the Abbate Melia towards the Italian Church in London,
and for which he is labouring so zealously. This donation has been for-
warded through the Princess Doria, and the Prince has generously added
£30 on his own account. The Prince too. is known to be occupied in the erec-
tion of a very beautiful monument in the Villa Paraphili, to the memory of
the many French soldiers who fell in the siege, and who were buried in the
grounds with little wooden crosses over their graves. This act of Christian
charity towards their comrades is fully appreciated by the French garrison
now in Rome.
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 187
To the EdUor of ike ** CathoUc Magatine and Regiiter**
JS8U ChRISTI Pa88IO.
My i>bar Sir. — ^I promised to write again on the eonveriion of England,
to show that this great object is not only to be devoutly wished for ; as few
people wtHH deny^ but that, if we please, it may likewise he hoped for. There
is, let me observe, a very important diflerence between wishwg and hoping
fiorr something good. Moreover, when the object in question regards our
own spifftttal welfare, or that of our neighbour, let me observe also, that if
it may be hoped for, wUhing will by no means satisfy the demand of charity.
St. Paul says not, charity wisheth all things but ''hopeth all things.*' (1 Cor.
xiiL 7.) One reason of this is that charity is an active quality, a fire which
consumes and spreads. Now wishes, simple wishes, however devout, how*
ever vehement, will never move a man to the least exertion. Before he will
attempt to do something for himself or his neighbour, he must hope for
success, some success at least, more or less. In proportion as his hope is
lively, will his exertions for the object be vigorous and persevering. I
complained in my last letter that the Catholics of England, though they do
not condemn me for begging prayers for the conversion of the country, dp
not think it worth their while to say many, and hardh* any one will take the
pains to beg for them from others ; and that the rrotestants of Enghmd,
though they likewise approve of my proposal of their praying that we may all
be brought to unity in the truth, 1 suppose, do mighty li&e towards it, at
least most of them : for I must make some noble exceptions, as in favour of
Mr. Dodsworth, who preached and printed a sermon on the subject. Mean-
while, Catholics abroad need but a word or two, to make them not only
approve but vigorously act in the cause. Is this because English Catholics
do not ioUh for the conversion of England, or rather would not wish for it,
if they thought it possible, as much and more than those abroad \ No,
surely. Of course, they mu$t wish for it $ all motives divine and human
concur in making it a thing desirable in their minds : but there is no hope.
And why this difference ? I do not attribute it to their being so far behind
their brethren in France and elsewhere in this theological virtue ; but to
the circumstance, that they necessarily see the difficulties and obstacles
more plainly, and the^ have not hope enough to make them surmount the
discouragements, which naturally is produced by the sight. If we take a
view of a great mountain at twenty miles' distance, it wiU seem as if nothing
was so easy, as to go up the path which we seem to see marked up to its
summit ; but when we come near, and begin the ascent, the attempt appears
very different. We find we have to cross fissures and torrents ana crags
and ridges, of which we saw nothing in the distant prospect, and we very
hkel^ think it either impossible, or not worth the trouble. It may be right
to give up the attempt, if the object is only to get a view of the sunrise
from the mountain's top, and the difficult passes to be made are really im*
practicable or very dangerous ; but I will not allow it to be right to be
discouraged at the near view of the difficulties attending such an enterprise
as I propose; where the object is the saving of hundreds of millions of
souls and where the difficulties may be surmounted by God's help, or
supposing they are not surmounted, there is in the undertaking ever^ thing
to hope for ourselves, nothing to fear. I, even 1, shall be able, I thmk, to
convince some of this, if not all ; provided I live to write, long enough, and
the *' Catholic Regist^' also lives and flourishes, and gets good circulation,
and will still give me room. But first now, let it be understood, what is the
hope to which I would persuade people. Some persons seem to think that
I had made up my mind that England was to be converted in a certain
number of years, and that I fancied myself to have some asswancs of it.
Digitized by
Google
188 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
suoli as a prophet or a saint might have. I am sometimes a^ed in a tauntinff
tone of triumph, Well, Sir, and is England Catholic yet ? or. When wul
England he Catholic f as if I had ever marked out a fixed time, when it
would be, and that time had already passed. I admit that when I first
became a Catholic, I had expectations more sanguine than I could after-
wards keep up. I conceived other Protestants would more easily understand
the truth and beauty of Catholic faith ; and as Moses, when he first spoke
to the Israelites about breaking their bonds, seems to have been sadly dis-
appointed at finding they would not listen to him, so, when I began com-
municating my hopes for England to other Catholics, I too was disappointed
when I found I was only laughed at as a visionary, and I saw that f^m both
causes the work would probably be greater and more difficult than it seemed
at first ; but I never had conceived that the conversion of England was
certainly to take place, at all, much less had I ever fixed and defined any
particular period for it. On the contrary, when I have heard people talking
of visions and predictions about £ng1and*s conversion, I have never placed
futh in them. So many and so various are the visions and revelations of
this kind, which have been at different times reported to me, and apparently
quite independent of each other ; that I have always thought some degree
of credit ought to be given them, and some degree of encouragement taken
from them. To my mind, it is conceivable that such visions might be
vouchsafed of an event of such vast importance as this wonld be, as I
believe that revelations have been given of the conversion of individuals, as
of St. Augustine, of St. Andrew Corsini, to their respective mothers; but I
never woidd consent to any such supposed supernatural intimations being
relied upon with certainty unless they had been previously examined and
anproved by legitimate authority in the Church. Be it understood then,
that I profess no certainty on the subject. I do not and never did fancy
myself to have had any revelation about it. But on the other hand, I
always have opposed and will oppose those who declare that England will
never be converted, or not till alter a certain time or except under certain
conditions. Some, for instance, say that because England was Catholic once
and has fallen, she cannot return. Supposing it were true, as they are pleased
to say but as I do not admit, that no people has ever recovered the faith
after losing it, where is the revelation which assures them that Grod is not
to do something now in this respect ? Others say that England cannot be
converted till she has paid her full debt of punishment for the wrongs which
she has done to other countries, as for instance to Ireland. I have expressed
my disapproval of Irish clergy, employed on the Mission in England by Eng-
lish bishops, using such language. I think it is a lame kind of gospel to
preach to the poor English people, to tell them there is no hope for them,
till satisfaction has been made for the sins of their rulers, or rather of the
rulers of their ancestors. I object, again, to such sentences as the follow-
ing : — *' As long as the gorgeous Establishment maintains its golden influ-
ence in every respectable family in the country, the conquests of truth roust
necessarily be few.'' This reminds me of the clergyman who, being asked
bjT the farmers of his parish to read the prayer for fine weather in the church,
said, as we are told : " it is of no use praying for fine weather as long as the
wind is in the west.'' One of these sentences is much more high-sounding
than the other ; but the spirit of faith and hope seems to me about on the
same level in each. Neither do I like to hear people say, I believe England
will be converted ; but it will not be in our day ; or, it will be a hundred
years first, and the like. Of course, the good gentleman, who settles his
mind into this idea and thinks he has gone far enough in the way of hope,
remains quite satisfied that there is nothing for him to do, nor to say, nor to
spend for the purpose. He must go to Mass on Sundays ; but he may hunt,
snoot, and go to races or balls all the other days, and think of nothing else.
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 189
He nrast do his part towards keepinflf up our present chapels; but what
need to build fine churches, which wUl never be filled in our day ? we may.
leave that to our great fprandchildren. He must say his morning and night
prayers, but as to adding a Hail Mary for the conversion of England, or any-
thing of the kind, what use is it to pray for what we shall never see ? Such
RS these are the remarks with which I have been favoured by Catholics for
these twenty years back, when I have talked to them about the conversion
of England. 1 object to them all, as doing that which I have been accused
of doing ; that is, prescribing to Almighty God. If we are to prescribe to
him, I conceive he will be better pleased we should prescribe to him to
manifest his power and his grace than not to do it : but I say, let us not pre-
scribe to him either way ; but believing that he has full right to withhold
his mercies, if he pleases, from a sinful people, vet that he is more pleased
to show mercy than to withhold it, and that of his mercy and his power
there is no end, let us earnestly set ourselves to use the appointed means
of moving him to mercy ; and trust in him to do more than we desire or
conceive, being yet resigned to his will, and rejoicing in it, if it should be in
ways and at times far different from what we now think best. I have not
had so much trouble from the answers of Protestants as from those of
Catholics ; partly because I have not, till lately, had so much to say to them
on the subject, and partly, perhaps, because I more readily excuse them on
the ground of ignorance. But I have had plenty of cold water thrown on
me by them likewise. The song of too many is, that re- union is impossible:
whereas I simply answer, if the two parties both wished to be united, so far
is this from being impossible, that it is infallibly sure they would be united, and
that soon. So, when one tells me union will never take place among
Christians till the millennium comes, another till the Jews are converted, and
the like, — I answer, so much the better. If that is the case, we may then
make sure of seeing the commencement of the millenium, or the conversion
of the Jews about the middle of next July at latest ; for, if we do but please,
nothing can hinder our all being at one in the truth before the autumn.
I must now conclude. I would have entered on a further explanation of
my feelings on this question : Can England, or will England ever be Catholic
again? will Christians ever be united? and how soon? founded on the
thirty-seventh chapter of the prophet Ezekiel. I would fain beg those who
read my letters, to be so good as to peruse and weigh that interesting chap-
ter ; and next month, please God, I may propose my remarks upon it, which
perhaps will agree with those that have been suggested to their minds.
I am, dear Sir, your faithful Servant in Christ,
Ignatius of St. Paul, Passionist,
Catholic Chapel, Blackbrook, Lancashire, April 8, 1850.
To the Rev, Father Ignatius, on the Re^conversion of England,
Revbrbnd Father. — Your charitable heart, swelling and overflowing
with desire for the re-conversion of our country, will, I am assured, receive
with condescending kindness any suggestion tending to the accomplishment
of that holy hope; even from the most humble of the children of the
Church. 1 beg therefore to present to your consideration an idea, which I
have long entertained, and meditated upon. It is that of a practical co-
operation with prayer, by means of example. This duty is ever incumbent
on Christians ; but at the present time, when God's holy Spirit is breathing
anew over our nation, it is the more demanded. The Catholics of the
existing generation may be considered as the seed of the future harvest of
the salvation of our country. Let us then devote ourselves, in a special
and more sacred manner, to this holy obligation. A model is before us,
blessed by great and consolatory success, in the "Pledge of Temperance,"
Digitized by
Google
190 MONTHLY INTELLIOENCE.
iiiBtituted by Father Mathew. Yoa, dear Reverend Fatlier, eould farm and
ettabliah a new and still more heayenly association of Catholics; who should
pledge themselves solemnly before their pastor, to live hencdbrward vir-
tuously and piously for the spiritual edification of their separated brethren.
From such soldiers of the cross very frequent confession and communion
must necessarily be required. I will venture to add also^ that every com-
panion of such an order should receive from his pastor^ on his admission, a
ribbon and medal, to be worn in a modest and unseen manner ; which, at
each confession, should be given up to his director; who should be em-
powered to retain it, or re-bestow it, according to his paternal views of its
being merited or forfeited.
Hoping to be excused this freedom, and that mv proposal, if it in any
degree receive vour approbation, may in your apostolio hands acquire value
and adoption, 1 am, Keverend Father, yours with the greatest respect,
Oxford, Unus.
P.S. You might approve of the medal having an invocatory inscription to
the blessed Mary, our heavenly Mother, also to St. George, or St. Augustine;
or under whatsoever patronage you might place the society. You would
probably also recommend one day in the year for general and fervent com-
munion, with a processional devotion to propitiate the mercy of heaven for
the object which should be so dear to our hearts. And, it has sometimes
occurred to my mind, that, if ever, under your happy sanction, such an
association could be established, the members shoiUd essay, under the
direction of their pastor, to overcome some particular fault and acquire some
appointed virtue for the same holy purpose.
To the Editor of the "CathoUe Magazine and Reffiiter."
Dear Sir.—You will doubtless be delighted to hear that F. Nevvman
purposes preaching during the present month of Mary at the Oratory on the
"Present Vifficvllies of Anglicanism,'* May we not securely hope that these
lectures will be attended hj our separated brethren, and that many who are
now in doubt will be reconciled to holy Church ? — Yes, a harvest, thank God,^
is coming, and tbe prayers of the Y. Mary d'Escobar, and St. John of the '
Cross, will now be proved to have been heard for the conversion of our
beloved island mother — Oh, let us then be indefatigable in our prayers for
England I Wishing you every success, I am, Sir, your obedient servant^
A Convert,
London, Feet, 8ti, Georgii, 1850.
Extract from a Letter from our Correspondent.
Kilrush, County Clare, Ireland, April 2, 1850.
" I am grieved to state that tbe condition of the peasantry and poor of this
district is still very pitiable ; though I hopne that signs of amendment are to
be seen in very much increased activitv in tilling the land, which affords
some employment, though at a miserably low scale of remuneration: one
shilling per week, and two meals of Indian-meal porridge per day, being the
usual wages for a labouring man. About 12,000 of the infirm class are in
receipt of out-door relief, and 3,300 are in tbe workhouse. Among the
latter, the mortality is very distressing : ranging from 120 to 160 per month,
or over 100 per cent, per annum on the number of inmates.
" The Government and Poor-Law Commissioners are using every effort to
mitigate suffering and relieve want, by procuring additional workhouse
accommodation ; though the repugnance of the poor to enter the workhouse
is verv great.
'*Tne evictions still continue : 104 cabins have been levelled on one small
property, within a space of four days, during the last month."
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIOBNCE. 191
ECCLESIASTICAL INTBLU6ENCE.
Annual Mkktino of ths Vicars-Apostolic. — The Right Reverend
the Vican-Apoetolic in England have held their annual meeting in London.
We rejoice to hear that they unanimoualy resolved to make each a ooUecticHi
in their seyeral districte aa should enable them to present to his Holi*
ness the Pope a token of the gratitude felt by English Catholics for the
partial restoration of the hierarchy in this country. It is fortUDate that a
sacred relic exists in England, of such workmanship and splendour as to
make it a fit offering on the occasion ; and that the purchase of it by the
Bishops will be the means of still further benefitting religion, through one
of our most important collegiate establishments. The value of the proposed
offering, which we have seen, is about £2,000. Every Catholic will wish to
have a share in the transfer of it, and in testifying his gratitude to the Holy
See.
The Unprotected Female in Theological Difficulties. — The
following correspondence has passed between Miss Sellon, the Sister of
Mercy, and Lord Chief Justice Campbell :
'*The Orphans' Home, Plymouth, March 19.
'* My I.rf>rd. — ^It is with a pain the intensi^ of which, amidst such apparent
ingratitude, your Lordship will not readily imagine possible that in writing
to express n^ deep sense of your kindness in consenting to aid the work at
Devonport, 1 have now to request the withdrawal of a name which, noble
and honoured as it is, is connected most painfully with a decision which for
the present brands the Church of England with uncatholio teaching.
** As a most unworthy, yet fedthf ul daughter of that Church, I have, as your
Lordship will perceive, no choice left me in woriiing for her but to withdraw
from one who nas assisted in a judgment which I am bound to believe is so
contrary to her fundamental principles as to be fatal to her unless absolutely
rejected.
*' It is useless to multiply words of sorrow. Your Lordship will know and feel
that such a letter as the present ought not and could not be written without
much grief and embarrassment. Entreating your forgiveness, and praying
that all blessing may attend you and yours,
** I am, your Lordship's humble and grateful servant,
"Priscilla Lydia Sbllon,
"Ye mother supr."
*' Midland Circuit, Warwick, March 31, 1850.
" Madam. — Having a most sincere respect for your piety and benevolence,
I would beg you to reconsider your request that my name may be withdrawn
from the list of those who are desirous of assisting you in the truly Christian
objects to which your life is devoted. I really believe that you misunderstand
the judgment to which you refer when you 'consider that it is so dangerous
to the Q&urch and so discreditable to those who concurred in it. I assure
vou that we have given no opinion contrary to yours upon the doctrine of
baptismal regeneration. We had no jurisdiction to decide any doctrinal
question, and we studiously abstained from doing so. We were only caHed
upon to construe the articles and formularies of the Church, and to say
whether they be so framed as to condemn certain opinions expressed by Mr.
Gorham. If we be mistaken in thinking that they are not so framed, you
will hardly say that for this mistake (which you will charitably believe to be
oonscientiotts) we ought to be excluded from communion with orthodox
Christians. Recollect that the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Arch-
bishop of York entirely approved of what we did, and that they are as much
answerable for it as if they bad been members of the court instead of being
Digitized by
Google
192 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
only our advisen. Reflect, then, whether it be for the good of the Church,
to which vou are so affectionately attached, to pronounce ezoommunication
against all who approve of the decision which you censure. Perhaps you
may find that a large majority of the pious sons and daughters of the Church
of England think tbat the decision is sound, and that it may heal the wounds
from which she has lately suffered. At any rate I do hope that upon re-
consideration you will still allow me to have the gratification of being upon
your committee. If you remain infiexible. I must submit to your determi-
nation, but I shall continue to pray that Heaven may enlighten your under-
standing and further your labours with its choicest blessings.
" I have the honour to be, with the highest respect. Madam,
'^ Your most obedient faithful servant,
" Campbell.'*
"The Orphans' Home, April 8.
"My Lord. — I found your letter on my return from a short absence from
home. Need I say that the unexpected kindness of its contents only made
me the more bitterly mourn over the unhappy cause which separates me from
such a benevolent and noble heart — separates me, as I still hope, only for a
time, for how can I believe but that your Lordship will in time perceive what
is involved in your decision, and will lament as deeply as any one of us that
it should have endangered the Church by the apparent admission of heretical
teaching.
"You tell me that, on the contrary, it will help to heal her wounds. Alas !
my Lord, that you should say so. How can it heal her wounds to tell us
that her articles admit of a heresy which her creed rdects ? I may not believe
it, although such words are sanctioned by the two Archbishops. My Lord,
I do not believe it. It would be to question the truth of the Church of
England to believe that it were matter of allowed indifference whether an
article of the creed were contradicted or not. It is not being faithful to her
to doubt until her own voice condemn her, which mav God forbid I But
many hearts since the decision do fail. Thev believe tliat your decision is
just; they do not believe that the Church of England is a witness to and a
holder of the truth of God — ^they turn from her, as not being 'a light set on
a hill which cannot be hid.' Their faith is utterlv shaken. I speak from
a bitter knowledge of facts. I see her forsaken by those who have loved
her. And you, my Lord, do you also believe that the Church of England
has been untrue to herself— that her formularies are so constituted that
she contradicts her own belief— that she will not maintain the faith of her
creeds — that she will admit priests to teach her children that which has
been condemned as a heresy ? Forgive me, my Lord, for writing thus to
you. How can I do otherwise ? It is not that I forget the difference which
God has placed between us — ^the difference between an exalted and a lowly
position — ^the difference of age, and sex, and station ; but all fades away
while I recollect the wonderfm kindness of your let<er — the noble reluctance
with which you withdraw the aid which once I should have so joyfully and
gratefully accepted ; and I cannot but speak to you heart to heart.
"I thank you very earnestly for your promise of remembering me in your
prayers. I am not worthy to pray for you— and yet if the God of all good-
ness will hear the supplication of a loving and deeply sorrowing heart. He
will bring you to grieve for the injury done to the Church, and will help you
to repair it — and give you all blessing in time and in eternity.
" Yours very humbly and affectionately,
"P. Lydia Sbllon."
" Stratheden-house, April 10.
"Madam. — I deeply grieve that (although in very courteous language)
you adhere to the stem resolution of excluding me from the gratification of
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 193
being upon the list of your committee, and of contributing my mite to the
excellent chanties which you so laudably superintend. I must confess that
you do not seem to me to have made any way in proving that my concur-
rence in the decision of the Judicial Committee in the Gorham case should
disqualify me humbly to assist you in taking care of orphans, in providing a
Christian education for the children of worthless parents, and in mitigating
the physical sufferings of our fellow creatures.
'* If at any time hereafter you should be induced to relent, I shall joyfully
avail myself of the opportunity of again trying to further your benevolent
schemes, and in the mean time,
'*I have the honour to remain, with the highest respect,
'* Madam, your most obedient, faithful servant,
••Miss Sellon." "Campbkll.
Miss Sellon has addressed the following additional letter to Lord Camp-
beU:—
"The Orphans' Home, St. Peter's, Plymouth, April 16.
"My Lord. — I am very much surprised and pained to hear that my letters
to you have been published.
'* If your Lordship had thought it advisable that any public statement
should have been made regarding the subject on which they were written
this could easily have been dune in another form; but those letters were
addressed siniply to your own heart, and coming from the fulness of mine,
were such as I should not have shown to others. They were a sacred matter
between your conscience and my own and our God ; and are, I need scarcely
observe, singularly unfitted for the columns of a newspaper.
'' It is not the first time that I have had cause to remonstrate at the way
in which my private words have been made public by others ; I would, my
Lord, that you and all to whom I write, would recollect that my letters are
written only for those to whom they are addressed, and that I claim the
courtesy most especially due to a woman in requiring that they should not
be published without my knowledge and permission.
*' I own, my Lord, that I am rather indignant with you, but I am still
"Yours humbly and affectionately,
"P. Lydia,
"The Mother Supr. of the Sisters of Mercy."
Convocations. — ^The Guardian states that a petition having been trans-
mitted to the Archbishop of Canterbury, bearing the signatures of 118
clergymen of the diocese of Lincoln, praying him to make a representation to
Her Majesty on the subject of Convocations, the Primate replied as follows :—
"Lambeth, March 30.
^'Rev. Sir. — ^As your name stands at the head of the clergy who have
addressed me from the diocese of Lincoln 1 send my reply through your
hands ; and I beg the memorialists to believe that it is always with regret
that I oppose the wishes of such a body of clergy as have desired me to
promote the assembling of convocation. But the matter is one on which I
must act upon my own opinion ; and my opinion is quite decided, being
founded upon the annals of former convocations, — that the meeting of sucn
a synod for deliberation would tend to inflame rather than to moderate
feelings, whick are already too much excited, and increase the difficulty of
restoring that peace to the church of which we so greatly stand in ueed.
With reluctance, therefore, I must decline acceding to the wishes of the
memorialists, and remain. Rev. Sir,
** Your faithful servant,
••Rev. F. C. Massingberd." "J. B. Cantuab.
Digitized by
Google
194 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
CONVERSIONS.
The Bishop op Exbtbr*s Chaplain. — Information reached town on
Mondi^, which we believe may be depended on, that the Rev. W. Maskell,
vicar of Marv Church, Devon, and domestic chaplain to the Bishop of Exeter,
had signified his intention of resigninff his living this week, preparatory to
entering the Chorch of Rome.— Herali. — It has since been stated, that at
the request of the Bishop, the resignation is delayed.
On Easter Sanday, the wife of Mr. Robert Bocock, of Newmarket, was
received into the Catholic Church at Cambridge, by the Rev. Thomas
Qninlivan.
The Archbishop of Canterbury has reconunended a clergyman who
hesitated about retaining his livin(| in the Church, after the recent decision
of the Frivy Council, to hold his incumbency for six months, and if at the
termination of that period he held the same opinions to resign the living.
John Bethell, Esq., of Sussex-square. Hyde Park, and brother to Mr.
Bethell, Q.C., was received into the Church at Farm-street, on Friday
April 5th.
The Gospel Messenger announces that Robert Beverly Tlllotson, a candi-
date for orders in the Episcopalian Church, Western New York, lately
embraced the Catholic faith in Europe.
FOREIGN.
RoMS.— The Moniteur published the following tel^nfaphic despatch :—
^'Rome, April 13.— The Minister Plenipptentiary of France to the Mini-
ster for Foreign Affairs. — The Pope entered Rome last evenii]^ at four
o'clock. He was received with the most enthusiastic acclamations. The
whole of the city was illuminated in the evening."
Personal Appeabanck op his Holiness. — ^The Naples correspon-
dent of the Daily News thus describes a recent presentation to his Holineas
Pope Pius IX. : — " His Holiness, who received us with j^reat courtesy, looked
remarkably well ; after a few indifferent questions, he said that ' he would pray
the Lord to shower down everv grace upon us, and especially that grace
which was nearest his heart.' To two of the party, who were children, he
said, * I will give vou each a reminiscence of me, so that when you are grown
up you will be able to say that you have seen the Pope ;' and then turning
to his escrutoire he took out two medals with his effigies upon them, and
presented them. Whilst waiting in the antechamber, Cardinal Dupont
passed through, having received an audience ; he was followed shortly after
oy Cardinal Riario-Sforza, Bishop of Naples. The Sardinian Ambassador
then came out, and we were presented. The manners of the Pope were ex-
ceedingly simple, and his dress still more so, consisting of a fine white flannel
dress — on his head be wore a crimson coloured cap, large enough to cover
the tonsure, and his shoes were of crinuon or chocolate coloured velvet, with
the cross embroidered in gold on each. I must not omit to say that to each
of us who were Protestants his Holiness extended his hand to be kissed."
Letters from Rome on the 31st ult. announce the escape from the prison
of the Castle of St. Angelo of Gazzola who had been sentenced to confine-
ment in a monastery for his writings a^nst reli^on and the Holy See, as
also for conduct subversive of ecclesiastical discipUne.
The Right Rev. Dr. Flaget, Bishop of Louisville, Kentucky, died on the
1 1th ult., in the eighty-seventh year of his age, fifty-eight of which he spent
in America, whither he arrived in 1792, being then twenty-nine years old.
In the year 1808 he was appointed Bishop of Bardstown, Kentuckv — ^was
consecrated on the 4th of November, 1810, and m the spring of the foUowing
Digitized by
Google
&1
MONTHLY INTBLUGENGE. 195
'ear took possession of bis See, which he ffoverned for more than forty years.
*is successor is the Right Rev. Dr. Spalding, a native of Kentuckf.
Pittsburg. — ^A large meeting was held in Fittsburg on Sanday, March
I7th, to consider whether they should repair St. Paul's Cathedral, or rebuild
it. The conclusion was to rebuild it, and 10,813 dollars were subscribed
at once towards that purpose.
The temple on Mount Zion, according to a Berlin paper, is about to be re«
built, by permission of the Turkbh authorities, with a magnificence such as
ordinary mortals would in vain labour to imagine. Our German contem-
porary afi&hns that a fund of several millions sterUng (whence derived we are
not told) is available for the purpose. If any Jewish temple, however modast
a one, be erected on the sacred mount at all, the religious world wUl necaa<:
sarily be looking for after events of greater magnitude still.
PARUAMENTARY RECORD.
17th April. — On the order of the day for the second reading
OF the Education Bill.
Mr. Stafford moved that it be deferred for six months.
The Earl of Arundel and Surrey seconded this amendment. Such
a measure as this, he argued, must be founded upon one of two principles-^
either that secular education was more valuable than religious education,
which none but an infidel would maintain ; or, that secular education would
lead to r^igious education, which was contrary to all experience. He showed
the invidious tendency of various works published in difiSerent countries,
written m&i great skill and learning ; remarking that Mr. Fox's bill was
supported by this school. Those, observed the noble lord, who propagated
these views were almost as zealous, he should almost say, as a priest in
propagating the faith. Such measures as the present bm were precisely
what were wanted by a school which cloaked itself under the name of
Christianity. It was a current report that Mr. Froode had been appointed
principal of a new college at Manchester. Thanking the house for having
allowed him to disgust them with the extracts he had read, he should say
they were now arrived at another period of the world's history. Every one
knew what his particular religious belief was; but he was not advocating
the clidms of the Roman Catholic Church ; he was speaking on behalf of
the poor of every religious denomination (bear, hear), that they should not
be exposed to the peril of their souls. He cafled on the Government not
to sanction such a measure as the present. Some three centuries ago a
great convulsion arose in men's minds, and what was called the Reformation
took place. The Scriptures were set up for the teaching of the Church.
He did not say whether that was right or wrong; but now they had arrived
at another period, the Scriptives were to be utterly laid aside. They were
told that the school ignorantly praised by respectable prints was read by
evervbody, and that the world was on the eve of another great change in
the numan mind. The present movement he rep^arded as that of a mere
skirmishing party which would be easily driven in ; but what he called on
the House to consider was that this was not the last attack, that the two
armies were. joined, that the battle-cry was ** religion" or "irreligion"
(hear, hear), "God'' or "devil," and that the issue for which they must
fight was heaven or helL (Hear, hear.)
On the motion of Mr. Anstey, the further consideration of the measure
Cwhich was opposed also by Lord J. Russell) was deferred for a fortnight.
Digitized by
Google
196 MONTBtY INTELLIGENCE.
MISCELLANEOUS.
For the first time since the ''Reformation/' a Catholic gentleman has been
selected as High Sheriff for the county of Suffolk, in the person of Sir
Thomas Rokewode Gage, Baronet, of Hengrave Hall, near Bury St Edmund's.
There was one omission, we think, in this appointment, namely, that there was
no priest appointed as chaplain to Sir Thomas, who might have insisted upon
preaching before the judges. The assize sermon was preached, as a matter
of course, by the incumbentof the chiu*ch which their lordships attended.
Nuns in Cambridge. — After a space of more than 300 years. Nuns are
again stationed in the University town of Cambridge. On Monday, the 1 1th
instant, the Schools of the Roman Catholic Missions were re-opened, under
the superintendence of two Nuns, of the Order of the Infant Jesus, from the
Convent of Northampton. On the Wednesday following. Mass was cele-
brated by the Rev. Thomas Quinlivan, the pastor, for the special invocation
of the Holy Ghost on the labours of the Sisters ; after which the children
went in procession to the Schools. — Cambridge Chronicle,
Biblical Lobe. — During the French campaign in Italy at the end of the
last century, the clergymen in Montrose, in their public ministrations, were
importunate in their petitions for the downfal of Antichrist. When the
Papal Government was suppressed in 1798 and the Pope compelled to quit
Rome, it was conceived that these prayers had been answered, and the
petitions in question were, it seems, intermitted. The change was remarked
Dy an old woman, a regular hearer of Mr. Mollison's, and meeting the clergy.
an one day the following coUoquv took place : — " Well, Margaret, how are
you to-davf" "Ou, brawly, Sir; hoo are ye yoursel, Sir ?" *' Pretty well,**
said Mr. Mollisbn, in his usual sonorous voice. '* There's just ae question
I wud like to pit till ye. Sir,'* said Margaret, as the clergyman was passing.
" Is Anne Christie dead, or is she better, that ye dinna pray for her noo?*' —
Scotch Paper.
The last Movement towabds Popish Wobship in Bidrford
Chubch. — ^Agreeably to intimation given on Easter day, the holy sacrament
of the Lord's supper, was administered at the parish church as early as eight
in the morning. A select few attended, chiefly young ladies, some of whom,
who had assumed the garb of mourning during Lent, appeared at the altar
veiled in white I On the same occasion, the singing bovs made their appear-
ance for the first time, in white surplices. However, these garbs of purity
were discontinued (for some reason or other) during the remaining services
of the day.
Db. Phillpotts to the Abchbishop of Cantbbbuby. — "My Lord,
I have said that there is too much cause to fear that the effect of this judg-
ment, bearing, as it does, your Grace's sanction, will be to drive many fromi
our Church— perhaps to Rome — perhaps to infidelity. Yet I trust in God's
mercy that such will not be the issue. If my voice can anywhere be heard
— if my wishes, my entreaties, my sufferings — for, indeed, my Lord, I have
suffered much — not for myself— but if my sufferings in mourning for the
Church, and for the too probable results to her continuance as a sound
Branch of the Tree of Life, can avail with any, I implore them to cling more
closely, more faithfully, more lovingly, to her in this her hour of affliction ;
above all, to pray humbly to him who can make all things work together for
good, that He will be pleased to ' correct us, but with judgment, not in His
anger, lest he bring us to nothing;' that we may learn — ^practically learn —
and feel how miserably weak we are, how great and good He is ! The
Church of England has hitherto been no ordinary branch of Christ's Church.
Let us not rend, let us not weaken her. Let us hope, let us labour for
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIOBNCE. 197'
better days ; and we will not oast away the hope that your Grace wiU ev^n
yet not desert us. Call together your com-'profrincial Bishops j nwite thmn to
declare what is the faith of the Church on the Articles impugned in this
judgment. This, permit me to say, is the best, perhaps the only safe coarse
you can take."
SuPBRSTiTiON IN LiMCOLNSHiRS.^At the magistrates' office, Spilsby,
on the 18th ult., William Martin, of Bratoft, was charged with imposing
OD Tobias Davison, by giving him a pretended charm to cure his wife of a
certain complaint, and receiving for the same the sum of 10s., Mr Robinson
appeared for Majrtin, who is an old man, 86 years of age, and has long
enjoyed the reputation of being a ''wise man," and by the exercise of his
art levied many a contribution on the credulous. Davison stated that about
eight weeks ago he went to the prisoner's house and told him that his wife
was ill, and he was to come and see if he could cure her. He told the
prisoner that he only had lOs., and he said, "Well, I cannot help it, if yoa
nave no more." He took the money and went to another part of the room,
and shortly after came again and gave him a paper parcel, which he said was
to be suspended round his wife's neck, and it would do her good. His wife
wore it for some time according to the prisoner's direction, but did not
receive any benefit. The bench ordered the parcel to be opened, when in
several folds of paper were found some pieces of sticks and a piece of writing
paper, on which was written the word '* Abracadabra," the 12 signs of the
zodiac, some fractional numbers, and the following lines : —
" Bf Saint P»ter mad S«iiit Panl,
G«d is the maker of ua all;
What he save to me I give to thee.
And that la naught to nobody. "
Mr. Robinson recommended the prisoner to the merciful consideration of
the bench on account of his great age and infirmities. Ordered to be com-
mitted for 14 days, to pay all expenses, and the cost of maintenance in
}»i8on. — Boston Herald,
The Right Rev. Dr. Delany, the venerated Roman Catholic Lord Bishop
of Cork, administered the holy Sacrament of Confirmation on Tuesday, the
19th uH., at the Government prison. Spike Island, to 794 convicts.
The Pope has sent to the Archbishop of Baltimore, a letter confirming
the last Provincial Council held there, and containing also the following
paragraph: —
" We are greatly rejoiced at the cheering testimony you have sent us of
the very great and rapid increase of the Catholic religion in the United States.
We warmly congratulate you on your virtue and labours, and on the singular
zeal with which vou are animated for the propagation of religion, and the
enlargement of that portion of the Lord's vineyard entrusted to your care
and pastoral solicitude. We hope also that the future, with the help of your
eminent exertions, will produce still more abundant fruits. We freely
promise you that nothing will be omitted on our part that can aid you, or
be useful to the cause of the Church over which you preside."
"The Catholic Primatk" of all Ireland — ^The "Freeman's
Journal " has published in extenso a long pastoral to the Clergy and people
of his archdiocese, occupying five columns of tiie paper, from Dr. Cullen,
the newly consecrated Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh. It is a meek
and Christian production, designed mainly to inculcate the principles of
eharity and goodwill between men, and is a happy foreshadowing of the
•foenefilta which the archdiocese is Ukely to derive from the pastoral care of
the Author. — lUustrated News,
P
Digitized by
Google
198 MONISLT INTBLLIGEKCe.
Th« Immaculatk GoNCKPTTOif ov THV B. V. M.^-'We htLve reuon fo
bflUere'tbai adeem w«iir«&oiily hstie mi this 4iviiie'6tib3<ct that wHl gladden
tlMf hearto of tlie fcrwt balk 6f the Chribtiaii worid; ' Tho repliea to the
letter of his Hohnees wfaieh have ^een sent in (kom Almost mnversal Chris-
tendom, attest how dear to all Catholics will be any declaration to the
greater ^lorj of the mother of oar Redeemer. ThQ return of his Holiness
tO'Rome and the ensoing' month of Mary- will be the occasion of the decree.
Ik>MS. — (Friday Evenhig, April 12.)--The history of the last two years
has taoghtue to set very little reliance on any demodstnitions of public opi-
nion: 'Bat for this sad esperience I iAi<%ttld have warmly congratulated the
Popeand his French adviser^ on the eaod^ss of their experiment, and au|(ured
veUof the new Roman era from the enthusiasm which has ushered it in.
The- genuine heartiness, the uncalciilating expression of emotion, which de-
lighted the P(^ at Frossaotie and Veltetri, were not fcmnd in Rome ; bat
tiben it must be remembered chat it was from- Rome the Pope was driven
fnih as an exile-^at shame and silence are the natural expressions of
Mgret and repentance; so, considering everythiof^, the Pope was verj well
received. Bright banners waved over his head, bright flowers were etrewn
on his path, the day was warm and stinny^n all respects it was a nrarning
Mdnbtanda cretd, one of the diesfaxti of the reformed Papacy.
And vet- the ti^oughts which the gofftvoas scene suggested were not of
vnmixea gratification. French troops formed the Papal escort; French
troops lined the -streets and thronged St. Peter's. At first the mind was
carried back to the times when Pepin, as the eldest son of the Catholic
Church, restored the Pope to the throne of the Apostle, and for the moment
we were disposed to feel that the event and the instrument were happily
associated ; but a moment's glance at the tricolour standard, and the free
and easy manner of the General-in-Chief when he met the Pope at the gate
of the Lateran, recalled the mind back to the Freneh Republic, with all iti
foing train of intrigue, oppression, and infatuated folly.
But, whatever tbe change of scene may be^ it musi be admitted thai the
drama was full of interest and tbe decorations magnificent^ )iVhen the sun
shone on the masses collected in the Piazsa of St. Giovnnm, and tbe great
gates of the Lateran being thrown open thse gorgeous hierarchy of Rome,
with the banners of the various BaHilJcsp, the insignia 9»d costume €Kf evciy
office, issued forth, the effect was beyond measure imposing. An artist miost
hava (ailed in painting, as he must have failed :in compesing such a picture.
Precisely at four o'clock the batteries on the Place announced thai the car^
i^€ was in view, and presently tbe.douds of dust blo^tn before it gave a lees
agreeable assurance of its approach* 'J'he prvcession wa# headed b^ a strong
detachment oi cavalry ; then &>ll«»wed Ibe tribe of coitfiers, outriders,, and
officifdfr— ;whom I described from Veiktri — mofe troops and then the Pope*
JU^hc: passed the drums beat the ^^n^a^e, and the solaiers knelt, it waa com-
monly remxrtedjt but I. know not with what truth ;, it was* the first time they
ever.'kncjfr before tlie Head of the Qmrch.. Certaknly,. with the Italians
church^ ceremcmies are an iuatinct — ^the colonring and the grouping are so
aocidently but arti&iieally arraoged ; the bright scarlet of the numerous
OaedinaU' mingling with the solemn black of the Cfnsermttori^ the ermine of
the Senator, the- gohk&vestmeats of tbe high-priests, aind the soberer hues
of theinfericNT orders' e^ tbndergy. Whetf the Pope descended from the
eaoiaae a laud . c^eer waa raked atfd bandhferebiefe were; waved in abundance;
htttyS&frl the enthusiasqi that ia valuable is l^at which doea not boast of
simh a hiisiury' as' haodkeydliiefii. Very few people setoied to think it neees-
^ary to kneel,and^ o» the. irbdle,;the mass were more interested in the
pageant itself than in the drcumstances in whicla it originated. The excite-
ment of curiosity was> however, at its height, for many people, in defiance of
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 199
hone and foot, brolfe Info tho square, where tihejr affiirded* excellent, eport to
the Chaseeore, who amuBedthemeelvai in knocking off their hats and then
in pretreating them .fmn inclung them up. I mn down in time t» see hit
llimness march in procesaion up. the centre of the mi^pufieent St. Giovannii
This religious part of the ceremony was perhaps more imposiDg than thai
outside the church, • The dead silence wiiiie liie Pope prayed, the aolemn
straint when be rDse.£nNn bie knees, the rich -draperies whidi cowred the
walla and cast an atmoephereof purple light around, the black dresses and
the veils which the ladies wore, mingUng with everjr varietf of uniform, stars,
and ribands, produced an admirabk effect.
The great object, when this eeremony was half finiahed, was to reach St.
Peter's liefore the Pope could arrtye there, everybody of course starting at
the same moment, and eadx party Ihinking they were going to do- a verf
clever thing in taking * narrow roundabout way hy th^ Ponte- Sister, so
choking it up and leaving the main road by the Coliseam and the Foro
Trajano quite deserted. In ^e palmiest days of the Circus Rome could
never have witnessed auch ebanot racing. . All ideas of courtesy and
aolemnity befitting the occasion were banished. The only thing was whd
could arrive first at .the bridge* The streets aa we passed thcongh were<|uite
des^rted^it looked like a city of the dead. As we passed that admirable
inatitution, the Hospital St^ Giovanni Golabit^, which is , always open to
public view, the offioating priests sad soldiers wera standing in wonder at
the entiance, and die sick men raised ihemaelves on their arms and looked
with interest on the excitement occasioned by the return of the Head of that
Clumcb, to which they owed the foundation where they sought repose and
the fsith that taught them hope. . By the time we arrived at St; Peter's
the immenae space wsa already niowded, but, thanks to my Irish pertinaetrf,
I soon sibbwed myself into a foremost place at the head of the steps. Here
I bad to wait for about ui honr« admiring the untbing energy of the mob;
wlio resisted idl the attempts of tlie troops to keep i&tm Imck^ the gentle
expostulations of the ofiioers, and sometimes, th^ less gentle peisnaaion of
the bayonet. At aiat o'clock the banners fiew from the top of Adrian'^
Tomb and the ruar of oannon recomnenced; but again the acclamations
were very partial, and, but ifur the invsluable pocketrhandkerchieia oi the
eTer>sympathising hidies, the affiiir tmust hAim> passed off rather coldlv. It
was, nowever, very diffiirent in 8t. Peter's. . Wheis his Holiness troa that
naagnificent temple tbe thousands coUeeted within its waOs appeared truly
impressed with the. grandeur, tfaaalasost awful grandeur, of the scene.--- The
man, the occasion, and the apleadoor, all ao «triking--Mnever was >the host-
eelebrated(?) under t^ more remarkable combinatien of ciriaitnstanoes. The
word of command gi««n to die; troops rang ihrough. the. immense ^edifice,'
then the craah of -arms, and every maa kneSt for eonie moments amid a
breathless ailence^ . only broken by the. drums, which rolled at interrale.
The mass was ended* St. Peter's. sent forth the «tens of thousahds, the
soldiers fell in, the pageantry wna at an end.. Then eame the Mlumination^ ^
which was very beaixlaful, not &om the briUianey of ^ the lights, but from
its being ao uaiversal. St. Peter*s was only lighted en demi'-to^eite,JMd is
to appear in his glory to-morrow evening; but as the wind played among'
the lamps, and the fiames flickered and brightened in the breeze, the effect
from the Pincian v^as singularly graceful. 'Hie- Oampodoglio, that centre
of triumph, wae in a blaaa of fl^ory^ and the statues of the mighty of cdd
stood forth, like dark and aoliemn . wiuiasaes. of the. past^ in the sea of light. ^
But one by one tha.<laapSL>died out, the silence and > the. darkness of. th^:
night resumed their Tswaiy, nad the glory of the day became the history of
the past. •-,......■
Thus far prognosticatioss have been defeated. The Pope ia in the Vatican
Digitized by
Google
200 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
L^ us hope the prophets of evil may again find their predictions falsified ;
but, alas ! it is impossible to be blind to the fact, that within the last few
dajrs the happiness of many homes has been destroyed, and that the triumph
of the one has been purchased by the sorrows of the many. True, some
30,000 scudi have been given in charity, of which the Pope granted 25,000 ;
but there is that which is even more blessed than food — ^it is liberty. There
were conspiracies, it is true. An attempt was made to set fire to the
Quirinal ; a small machine infemale was exploded near the Palazzo Teodoli.
There was the excuse for some arrests, but nut for so many. But if the
hand of the Administration is to press too heavily on the people, the
absence of prudence and indulgence on the part of the Church cannot be
oompensatea for by the presence of its Head. In former days the roaster-
writings of antiquity which were found inscribed on old parchments, were
obliterated to make way for missals, homilies, and golden legends, gorgeously
illuminated. Let not the Church fall into the same error in these days by
effacing from its record the stern but solemn lessons of the past, to replace
them by illiberal, ungenerous, and therefore erroneous views, clothed although
they may be with all the pride and pomp of Papal supremacy. Doubtless some
time will elapse before any particular course of policy will be laid down. The
Pope will for the moment bide his time and observe. No one questions his
good intentions, no man puts his benevolence in doubt. Let him only
follow the dictates of his own kindness of heart, chastened by his bitter
experience, which will teach him alike to avoid the extremes of indulgence
and the excesses of severity.
Saturday Morning, Afril 13.
I am glad to be able to add that the night has passed ofi^ in the most
quiet and satisfactory manner, and I do not hear that in a singie instance
public tranquillity was disturbed. The decorations, consisting of bright
colours and rich tapestry, which ornamented the windows and balconies
yesterday, are kept up to-day, and the festive appearance of the city is fully
maintained. There is an apparent increase of movement in all the principal
thoroughfares. Of course the whole city is alive with reports of various
descriptions ; eveiybody draws his own conclusions from the great events
of yesterday, and indulges in vaticinations in the not improbable event of
General Baraguay d'Hilliers' immediate departure now that his mission has
been accomplished. A fine field will be open for speculation. Meanwhile
the presence of the sovereign has been of one inestimable advantage to the
town — ^it has put the municipality on the alert. The heaps of rubbish have
been removed from the centres of the squares and the corners of the different
streets, to the great discomfiture of the tribes of hungry dogs which, for
the comfort of the tired population, had not energy to bay through the
night. Workpeople have been incessantly employed in carting away the
remains of Republican violence. I observe, however, that the causeway
between the Vatican and St. Angelo, which was broken down by the mob,
has not yet been touched. Are we to hail this as an omen that the sovereigrn
will never again require to seek the shelter of the fortress, or as an evidence
that the ecclesiastical and the civil power are not yet entirely united ? —
Correspondent of I he ** Times."
[Fbom a. Roman CoaRsspoNDBNT.]
The Pope's journey, from Terracina onwards, was most propitious. Hie
Holiness slept on the 9th at Frosinone, and proceeded on the followin^^
morning to the Palace at Valmontone where he was magnificently received
and entertained by Prince and Princess Doria, on his way to Velletri. Up
to eleven o'clock the day was lowering, but at that hour the sun shone forth
to the great delight of the immense concourse of persons who had congre-
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 201
gated in tiie f<reat square befbre the palace to welcome their Sovereign, wko
was preceded by about half an hour bj General Gabrielli, and then Pnnce
Massimo — master of the post — and several couriers. The Pontifical cort^
consisted of nine carriages : on his arrival about two o'clock, his Holiness
alighted at the principal church which adjoins the palace, amidst the most
affectionate and loyul acclamations, and was conducted to a tribune by
Pnnce Doha and his uncle Don Carlo Doria, accompanied by all the autho-
rities of the town, when a solemn Benediction was given by a bishop before
the whole court and people, the nigh altar being beautifully lighted, and the
service, in which the organ and choristers joined, was most imposing and
impressive, iiis Holiness then passed to the palace, where the Princess
Doria, surrounded by her children and a select number of visitors, received
the Holy Father at the foot of the grand stair^case, and conducted him to
the throne-room, whence he almost immediately proceeded to bestow his
blessing from the Loggia— which had been decorated for the occasion— on
the multitude which thronged the square, his Holiness kindly observing that
he would not keep them waiting any longer. Ue was again received with
the utmost enthusiasm.
This ceremony being concluded, the Sovereign Pontiff again repaired to
the throne-room, where all were freely admitted, and most graciously received.
The canons of the church, the Holy Sisters (Maestre Pie), several of the
clergy, both regular and secular, and the municipalities of VahnontoDe, and
its neighbourhood for many miles around, paid their homages m succession.
Upon which, after the recital of some verses in honour of his Holiness, the
grand baoquetting-haU was thrown open, where a sumptuous gout^ was
served on a splendid service of gold plate, at which only ihe three cardinals
who accompanied his HolincBS, the other members of his court, and the
princely host and hostess, with the most distinguished of their guesu, assisted.
His Hohness appeared in excellent health and spirits, conversing freely
with those arounu him, and expressing himself, as we afterwards learnt,
must confidently for the future. He particularly noticed the young Prince
of Valmontone, Prince Doha's eldest son, a fine mielligeut-lookmg little boy,
and gave him his especial blessing. We were also much struck with the
amiable and gracious manners of Cardinal Dupont At four o'clock his
Holiness took leave, evidently most highly gratified with his reception ; and
on descending the stair-case was greatly surprised and flattered at finding
an inscription on a marble tablet commemorative of the event, already fixed
in the wall; and then pursued his route to Velleth amidst the usual vtvof.
We also noticed the Princes Borgbese and Aldobrandini, who came to Val-
montone to greet hia Holiness, and to do him homage as he passed the small
town of Montefortino, a fief of the Borgbese lamily.
I must now observe that the Palace of Valmontone is an immense pile of
building, being an ancient feudal residence of the Pamphilis. The state
apartments were newly decorated for the occasion. The prmcipal saloon
was hung with chroson damask encandr^ within gilt frames, and this,
joined to the beauty and richness of the furniture, and the splendour of the
old vaulted frescoed ceihngs — and which are common to the whole range —
produced a very grand effect. The throne-room deserves a particular notice,
being of vast sise, and the walls covered with crimson velvet, intersected at
intervals by gold passementerie, forming it into pilasters and spaces ; the
window curtains of the same materials, artistically arranged and enriched
with deep gold fringe and ponderous gold tassels. The pontifical throne,
with its chair of state, was tastefully dressed to correspond with the other
decorations. The banquetting hall was beautifully furnished with brocaded
yellow satin, which looked particularly bhUiant and striking. In fine, nothing
had been omitted to make his Holiness's reception worthy of the occasion.
Digitized by
Google
fOi MONTHLY INTfiLLIOENCB.
THE BISHOP OF £X£T£R AND MR. GOftHAlif.
QvEEM'fl Bbnch. — April 25tb. — (Before Lord Chief Jvntiee Campbell sad
Ju6tiee« Patteson, Wigfetroan, and Erie.)
JUDGMENT. — IN RE THE BISHOP OF EXETER AND OORHAM.
At the sitting of the Court, tbia iQarniDg Uurd Campbell deliveved judg*
ment in tbia lon^-vexed caae. ...
Some time before tbeir Lordsbipa took tbeir aeata oq tbe bench the court
warn thronged by peraona deaif oua of bearing the judgment.
Lord Campbbli. ^d tbia waa.a motion for aiuia to abow cauae why a
writ of prohibition abould not. iaaneto the Dean of the Arcdiea' Court and
to hja Grace tbe Arcbbiabop of CaQterbury,..to. prohibit them froxn reqiiiriag
tbe Lord Biabop of Exeter to institute the Rev. Gfioxfffi Comeliua Gorbiun
to tbe vicarage of Bampfprd fipeke« in tbe.dioceae of £]cet«r; «nd »im to
prohibit tbe Dean of tlie Arches and the Archbishop of Ca^teflrlmry from
instituting the aaid George Cornelius Gorham to the aaid vicarage, pursuant
to an order of her Majesty in Council^ made on the 9th of. March* 1850, upon
the report of the Judicial Committee of Privy CouocU, in an appeal from the
Court of Arches in the matter of Goibam v. the Bishop of. Exeter. Aa he
(Lord Campbell) aat aa a member of the Judida] Qosunitteeof Privy Council,
when that appeal was heard before that tribunal, he should have abstnined
from giving any opinion upon the propriety of grantiog thiA,applicatiofi upon
anv point then argued and decided; but the fiiabop of ExeW stated in bis
affidavit that he was not^ at the, time of the argument before the Judicial
Committee, or for some time afterwards, informed or Aware of the objectioB
now made ; and certainly that objection was never brought fomsfKvd befora
tbe Judicifld Committee by any of the counsel who addr eased the Cou(t» oc
by any o[ the members of the. Court, and never heard of until the deciaioa
was pronounced. The objection was, therefore, as.new to him (Lord Camp*
bell) as it was to bis Learned Brethren on the bench. The objection waa»
that Mr. Gorham bad no right by law to appeal to the Que^n in Council for
tbe purpose of bringing tbe case before the Judicial. Comnuttee of Privy
Council, and that he could only appeal trom the Court of Aichea to the
Upper Houae o{ Convocation. If that objection ynj^ well founded in point
of law tbe prohibition .ought to, be directed to stay thei execution i of the aen*-
tence, for on that supposition the judgment of the Court of Arches remained
m force^and the proceedings before the Judicial Committee of Privy Council
must be ^considered and taken to be a nuUitjr. But,.af|»er a very aitenlawi
and anxious consideration of tbe statutes bearing on the point, his Learned
Brethren and himself were all of opinion that the pbjection was unfounded^
and that the course taken by Mr. Gorbann upon the judgment being, givpn
against him in the Court of Arches was a course which it was perfecily com*
petent for him to take for the purpose of having the judgment in that court
reversed.
Tbe case turned upon two statutes, tbe 24th Henry VIIL, c. 12, and tbe
25th Henry VIIL, & 19. Sir Fitsroy Kelly, in his very lucid argument,
contended that in all cases which touched the Crown, the 9nly appeal from.
the Arches' Court was to the Upper House of Convocation, and that thia
case touched tbe Crown, inasmuch p» her Maj,e8ty was patron of the. living
of Bampford Speke ; and, therefore, the proper course wa^* to Appeal directly
from the Court of Arches to the. Upper House of Convocation. Upon that
last point the Court did not think it necessary to give any opinion,, because
they thought that the Queen, irrespective of any argument that this case
touched her Crown, bad an interest in the soundness pr unsoundness of
Mr. Gorham's doctrine. The statute of 24th Henry VIIL^c. 12, which
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLiaBNCE. S09
was passed when Sir Thomas More was Lord Chancellor, and when Henry
had not broken away from the see of Rome, did not give the power of
appeal for which Sir F. Kelly contended, which was admitted by the Learned
Counsel* It was the broaJ principle of that Act that all temporal matters
discussed in the Ecclesiastical Court should be finally determined by ths
King in Council (so we understood), and that the spiritual jurisdiction
belonging to the Pope, as supreme head of the Church, should remain uji«
touched. An appeal from the Archbishop's Court in a suit of duplex
quarela, which this was, would still have gtme to Rome ; but in the following
year Henry, finding there was no chance of succeeding in his divorce suit,
or of obtaining the sanction of the Pope, and being in^tient to marry
Ann Boleyn, resolved to break away from Rome altogether. Sir Thomas
More had now resigned the great seal, and it was held bv his more pliant
successor, who was more careful to study the wishes and tbe interests of
the king. Then was passed the statute 25th Henry VIIL, which put an
end to edl appeals to Rome in all cases whatever, ana provided that eccl^
siastical suits should be heard and decided in the courts of, first, the afeh-
deacon, then the bishop, and then the archbishop, and created a new court
of appeal from all decisions in those ecclesiastical courts. Instead of
allowing the decision of the archbishop to be final, the Legislature then
enacted that for lack of justice in any court of the archbishop, it was lawful
for any party feeling himself aggrieved to appeal to the High Court of
Chancery. One construction had been uniformly put on those statutes for
about three centuries, without any doubt being started on the subject until
the present motion was made. During that long period of time there had
been ihany suits decided in the Archbishops' Court, in which the Crowa
was conceratsd, respecting tithes, testimentary and matrimonial matters, as
well as withers of a spiritual nature. (The Learned Judge here cited several
of such cases, which had been so beard and determined.) There would be
no security for property or liber^ if it could be successfully contended that
all lawyers and all statesmen had been mistaken for centuries as to the true
meaning of an old Act of Parliament, llie Court could only interpret and
try to discover the intention of the Legislattire irora the language of the
statute. Piroceeding on that principle, his (l^rd Campbeirs) Learned
Brethren and himself all thought that no reason had been alleged to
invafidate the sentence in this case, on the ground that the Queen in Council
and the Judicial Committee of the Privy CouncQ had no jurisdiction, and
therefore they felt bound to say that a ride to show cause why a prohibition
should not be grantied to stay the execution of the sentence ought not to go.
Rule riefused according^.
AT<jCrtHER GoRHAM Casb. — Itis stated that a case very closely resem-
blhig that of the Rev. Mr. Gorhaih find the Bishop of Exeter is likely to
occur in the dioces^ of Gloucester and Bristol. The magistrates having
appointed the Rev. Mr. Simpson, who is understood to be the editor of a
pubUcation called TAe Protestant, to the chaplaincy of the Bridewell, in that
city, a number of the high church clergy have memorialised the Bishop,
alleging that the Rev. gentleman holds the heretical opinion that baptismal
regeneration is not a doctrine of the Church of England, and praying his
Lordship on that account, to refuse him the necessary license. It remains
to be seen what course the Bishop will take in the matter, which has given
rise to a good deal of interest in the neighbourhood.
The most Rev. Dr. Cullen, the new .Catholic Primate of Irelanc^ has
arrived at the Irish College in Paris.
Digitized by
Google
304 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
BIRTHS.
On the 7th of April, at No. 24, Wellingtcn Terrace, St. John's Wood,
Mrs. Merchant, of a daughter.
On the 8th of April, at Leamington, the Hon. Mrs. Petrb, of a
daughter.
MARRIAGES.
On the 15th of April, at the Catholic chapel, Warwick-street, and afterwards
at St. George's church, Hanover-square, Louisa, eldest daughter of W.
Balfe, Esq., 14, Bruton-street, Berkeley-square, to Maximilian Bblrbnd,
Esa., of Dantzic.
On the 18th of April, at the Catholic chapel, Kensington, hy the Rev.
W. Bugden, Mr. Robert Henry Harlow, to Cecilia, third daughter
of Walter Allanson, Esq., of Castle-street, Holbom.
On the 18th of April, at St. Elisabeth's Catholic Chapel, Richmond, by
the Rev. J. Wenham, and afterwards at St. Ann's, Kew, by the Rev. J.
Houghton Ward, James Reodin, Esq., of Prince Edward Island, to
Louisa Anna, youngest daughter of John Matthews, Eso., of Kew Green.
On the 23rd of April, the Feast of St. (>eorge, at St. Alary's, Moorfields,
by the Rev. George Rolfe, Jambs Bans, Esq., eldest son of James Bans,
Esq., of Lower Smith Street, Northampton Square, to Mary Joseph
Canneaux, second daughter of Mr. L. M. Canneauz, 8, Gould-square,
Crutchedfriars.
DEATHS.
On the 26th of March, at his residence, 15, Seymour-place, New-road,
Mr. William Philip Mather» aged 72 years.
On the 26th of March, Mrs. Catharine St. George.
On the 28th of March, at Lad broke-square, the infant son of Gborgb
H. Ullathorne, Esa.
On the 2nd of April, Mrs. O'Hanlon, mother of Dr. O'Hanlon, of
Maynooth College, in the 67th year of her age.
At Avranches, on the 3rd of April, Thomas Alexander Gerard, Esq.,
late of the 29th Regiment, and brother of Sir John Gerard, Bart.
On the 4th of April, at Madeira, Elizabeth, Lady Throckmorton.
On the 4th of April, Lavinia Ann Maria Downie, aged 24 years.
On the 7th of April, at Abbey Villa, Torquay, the residence of J. W.
Tarleton, Esq., the Rev. Michael Crewe, late pastor of Bilston, aged
30years.
On the 10th of April, at Bedford-street South, Liverpool, Mrs. Ann
ASKEN.
On the 12th of April, at Cliff Lodge, Southampton, Edward Gilbert
HoRNE, aged 15 years.
On the 13th of April, at Moor-lane, Cripplegate, Mr. Michael Murphy,
aged 74 yeais.
On the 15th of April, at Baker street, Madame Marie Tussaud» aged
. 90 years.
At Rathdowney, the Rev. P. Cuddihy, P.P. aged 50. He was for many
years in St. Mary's Parish, Kilkenny, and was beloved by all classes of
the people.
Digitized by
Google
THE CATHOLIC
MAGAZINE AND EEGISTER.
No. LXIV. June, 1850. Vol. XI.
THE BIBLE CATHOLIC ; OR SCRIPTURE TEXTS
FOR CATHOLIC DOCTRINE.
BY A YOUNG LAYMAN.
But sanctify the Lord Jesus Christ in your hearts^ being ready
always to satisfy evei-y one that asketh you a reason of that
hope which is in you. — 1 Peter iii. 15.
Mr. Editor,
It is in the spirit of my motto that I am about to bring
together those texts of Scripture that most bear upon the points of
Catholic doctrine to which Protestants object. It is true that
we can all refer to them in our Bibles ; but they may be more
usefully collected and collated. I do not profess to adduce any
new argument. Scripture inquirers are many in the land ; and
these would prefer an answer in the words of Scripture to any
other. It is for them, for the inquiring, unreading people, that
I copy out these texts. Our learned and pious theologians ad-
dress to the learned of our separated brethren arguments suited
to the difficulties engendered by study. I do not, however, offer
these texts to Tractarians, or to any Tractarian refinement of
Church-of-Englandism : but to the great mass of those who still
call themselves Protestants — ^who believe that their faith is
based upon the Bible, and that the doctrine of Catholics is anti-
scriptuiul.
I have many Protestant Mends to whom such a little treatise
may be useful; few Catholics in England are not similarly
situated.
The Church of England, as by law established, was established
by Act of Parliament less than 300 years ago. Those who
proclaimed the new religion, plundered the Catholic monasteries
VOL. XI. Q
Digitized by
Google
206 THE BIBLE CATHOLIC ;
and foundations, and enriched themselves with the spoil. I
admit that this conduct would not prove the new' religion to be
false : but it is enough to make one suspicious. And when
Protestants consider that the Catholic religion had existed in
England from the time of the pagans until diis new reformation,
that the great mass of Christians in all countries, rich and poor,
learned and ignorant still believe in it — they cannot think that
there is no Scripture warranty for those points of belief which
have been rejected by the Church of England and other
Beformers.
Let us see whether any such exist — whether it be possible to
be a Bible Catholic.
And first let me request your readers who admit in individuals
the right of interpreting the Holy Scriptures, to acknowledge
that the meaning which the CathoHc believes them to bear has,
at least, the same chance of being true as that which the Pro-
testant attributes to them.
The religion of the Catholic and of the Protestant acknow-
ledges Scripture as its foundation, although the Catholic does
not reject uninterrupted tradition as a means of explaining and
illustrating such texts as are in themselves doubtful or am-
biguous.
I will, therefore, confine myself to the quotation of such
passages in Holy Writ as may justify the Catholic in believing
those doctrines which the Protestant has rejected ; then let the
latter calmly consider whether we have not some Scripture
warranty for our faith — ^whether, as mere "Bible-Christians,"
we have not more to say for ourselves than he imagined.
Without entering into the more abstruse questions and doo-
trines, it will suffice to allude to the following principal points of
difference between the Catholic Church and the Church of
England and most Protestant " persuasions :" they are generally
observable and understood by all men; viz., — Purgatory and
Prayers for the Dead — The Invocation of Saints and
Angels — Fasting and Abstinence — ^The Infallibility of
THE Church — And the Number and Nature of the Sacra-
HENTS.
Purgatory.
The doctrine of purgatory teaches a middle state of souls
suffering for a time on account of sins unrepented or unatoned
for in this life : and is evidenced by those many texts of Scrip-
ture which affirm that Gt>d will render to every man according
to his works, and by our own natural reason which teaches us
that the justice of God forbids Him to allow those who die in a
Digitized by
Google
OE SCRIFTUBE TEXTS FOR CATHOLIC DOCTRINE. 207
state of lesser sin to escape without some punishment or to
receive the same condemnation as has been incurred by those
who have been guilty of the more enormous and sinful excesses.
That God will render to each one according to his works is
proved by the following passages : — St. Matt. xii. 36 ; " But I
say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they
shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." 1 Cor. iii.
13, 14, 15 ; — " Every man's work shall be made manifest: for
the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire ; and
the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any
man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive
a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer
loss : but he himself shall be saved ; yet so as by fire." 1 St.
Peter iii. 18, 19, 20:— "For Christ also hath once suffered for
sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being
put to death in the flesh but qtiickened by the spirit : by which
also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison ; which
sometime were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God
waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing,
wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water."
Is not a middle place, where the minute justice of the judg-
ments of God may be satisfied, necesmrily inferred firom these
passages ? That place is called purgatory. The existence of
purgatory is, however, rendered doubtful by the belief which
some Protestants entertain that the resurrection of the soul is
deferred until the day of general judgment at the end of the
present existing order of the world. On this subject, the
Articles of the Church of England do not speak ; though the
Burial Service implies a contrary belief; but to such as hold
that opinion, let me recall the following passages of Scripture in
order to prove an immediate individual judgment of each spirit
before the general judgment at the " last day" when all flesh
will arise and the justice of God be made manifest to all man-
kind. St. Luke xxiii. 43 : — " And Jesus said to him, Verily I
6ay unto thee, to-day shalt thou be with me in paradise." 2 Cor.
v. 1, 6, 7, 8 : — " For we know that if our earthly house of this
tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." " Therefore toe
are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in
the body, we are absent from the Lord : (for we walk by faith,
not by sight :) we are confident, / say^ and willing rather to be
absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.'*
Philip i. 23, 24 : — " For I am in a straight betwixt two, having
a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better :
nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you."
These and various passages in Revelation which it cannot be.
q2
Digitized by
Google
208 TH£ BIBLE CATHOLIC ;
needful to quote, suflSciently establish a judgment immediately
after death ; and at which judgment either heaven, hell, or pur-
gatory may be awarded.
Having thus shown that a belief in purgatory is not only not
repugnant but is even agreeable to Scripture, is it very difficult
to justify the practice of praying for the souls of those who may
have incurred such temporal punishment ? I think the Bible
will bear us out in doing so.
None deny the efficacy of prayer in general ; none deny its
efficacy when offered up by one living Christian for another ; —
St.'Paul frequently solicits the prayers of those to whom he
writes for himself ; if prayer may thus be available for the living,
does not natural reason tell us that it may be equally efficacious
when offered up for those of the dead whose sins, when in this
world, not being yet expiated have deferred their final admission
to paradise ? The fate of those to whom either heaven or hell
has been awarded, cannot be altered: judgment has been already
passed upon them ; but the motive of that purgatory or middle
state for the existence of which we have just searched the Scrip-
tures, evidently invites that intercession for its occupants which
would have been offered for them if they were still in this world
and exposed to the avenging justice of God.
To the unbiassed reasoning of those who admit the existence
of purgatory, I might thus without doubt submit the propriety
of prayers for the dead. The Articles of the Church of England
having selected what it considers the canonical books of the Old
Testament, say that the others are to be read ^^ for example of
life and instruction of manners ; but yet doth it not apply them
to establish any doctrine." But let me ask, if Protestants do
not receive both the Old and New Testament from the Catholic
Church, and on the testimony of the Catholic Church ? If so,
if they receive the Scripture on the authority of the CathoUc
Church by what right do they reject that same authority in
determining what portion of it ought to be received as canonical?
Yet arrogating to itself this right, the Church of England
declared, in the seventeenth century, that the first and second
books of Maccabees were not canonical. The Catholic Church
had always granted to these books the same respect as it yielded
to the rest of Scripture ; and although St. Peter declares — 2 i.
20, — ^that " no prophecy of the Scripture is of private interpre-
tation," am 1 not at least as much justified in quoting from this
book on the authority of the Catholic Church as in rejecting it
on the authority of Protestants ? I find, then, in 2 Mach.
xii. 43, 44, 45, 46 : — " Judas the valiant commander making a
gathering, he sent twelve thousand drachmas of silver to Jeru-
salem, for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead;
Digitized by
Google
OR SCRIPTURE TEXTS FOR CATHOLIC DOCTRINE. 209
thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection, (for if
he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it
would have seemed superfluous and yain to pray for the dead).
And because he considered that they who had fallen asleep widi
godliness, had great grace laid up for them. It is, therefore, a
holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may
be loosed from their sins." In Matt. xii. 32, 33, Christ says :
'^ But he that shall speak against the Holy Ghost, it shall not
be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in the world to come."
Some sins are, therefore, forgiven in the world to come. This
must be in purgatory.
The Jews have always prayed for the dead : they do so still.
Our blessed Lord never foimd fault with the practice : Scripture
says nothing against it : it cannot, then, be anti-scriptural. To
pray for those who are dear to us, is the natural feeling of every
one : and as fax as the holy Bible alludes to the custom at all,
it alludes to it approvingly.
Invocation of Saints and Angels.
It imports not to ascertain what is the doctrine of the Protes-
tant on each question : it is sufficient that I show that texts
may be adduced from Scripture in defence of my own creed.
Against my belief in the usefulness of the invocation of saints
and angels, the Protestant argues that there is but one mediator
by whom man may be saved. Most true, there is but one medi-
ator of redemption^ who is Christ : but there are other mediators
of intercessiony who are the saints ; living and dead.
I have already proved from Scripture that the saints are in
heaven before the general resurrection of the body. Their state
of existence in heaven is like to that of the angels : — Matt. xxii.
30 : — " But in the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given
in marriage but are as the angels of God in heaven." Luke xx.
36 : — ** Neither can they die any more for they are equal unto
the angels and are the children of God, being the children of
the resurrection."
The Protestant Colled for Saint Michael and all Angels
contains the following prayer : — " Mercifully grant, that as thy
holy Angels alway do thee service in heaven, so by thy appoint-
ment, they may succour and defend us on earth, through Jesus
Christ our Lord. AmenP This is just what I also say.
I find in St. Matt, xviii. 10 : — " Take heed that ye despise
not one of these little ones ; for I say unto you that in heaven
their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in
heaven." Heb. i. 14: — "Are they (the angels) not ministering
spirits, sent forth to minister for tfiem who shall be heirs of sal-
Digitized by
Google
210 THE BIBLE CATHOLIC;
Tation ? " Zechariah i. 12 : — " Then the angel of the Lord
answered and said, Oh Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not
have meicy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah against
which thou hast bad indignation these threescore and ten years."
Genesis xlviii. 15, 16: — ^^And he blessed Joseph, and said,
God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the
God which fed me all my life long unto this day, the angel which
redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads ; and let my name be
named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and
Isaac ; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the
earth." Hosea xii. 3, 4 : — " He took his brother by the heel in
the womb, and by his strength he had power with God : yea, he
had power over the angel and prevailed ; he wept and made
supplication unto him."
Do not these texts prove that the angels not only have an
intimate communion with God, but also that they have been
invoked by the servants of God to, intercede for them ? The
following passage will show that the intercession is not made
in vain — Rev. viii. 3, 4 : — " And another angel came and stood
at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given to
him much incense, that he should ofier it with the prayers of
all saints upon the golden altar which was before die throne.
And the smoke of the incense which came vrith the prayers of
the saints ascended up before God out of the angePs hand."
Do not these passages justify me in believing that angels
have not only the power of protecting us on earth, but also
that of interceding for us with God in heaven ? And as it has
been shown that Saints "are like unto the Angels," let us
search whether they have not a similar power of mediation and
intercession.
The communion of saints with us may be gathered from the
following texts. Rev. ii. 26, 27: — "And he that overcometh
and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power
over the nations : and he shall rule them with a rod of iron."
Rev. V. 8, 10 : — " The four beasts and four and twenty elders
fell down before the lamb, having every one of them harps,
and golden vials full of odours which are the prayers of the
saints." " And hast made us unto our God kings and priests ;
and we shall reign on the earth." Again, to corroborate the
beginning of the passage just quoted — Luke xvi. 9 : — "And I
say^unto you, make to yourselves friends of the mammon of
unrigfateousness ; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into
everlasting habitations." Does not this clearly prove that the
poor servants of God, whom we have assisted by our alms, may
hereafter, by their intercession, bring our souls to heaven ? If
not, what does it mean ?
Digitized by
Google
OR SCRIPTURE TEXTS FOR CATHOLIC DOCTRINE. 211
It has been shown by 'various passages that Saints and
Anoels have the same nature and have a communion with us
on earthy in support of which doctrine I shall quote one more
passage from St. Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews, chap. xii. 22,
23 : — *^ But ye are come unto. Mount Sion, and unto the city
of the liring God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and unto an innu*
merable company of angels, to the general assembly and
church of the first bom, which are written in heaven, and to
God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made
perfect:^ — it has been shown that the servants of God have
often asked for their intercession : — it is shown that they take
an interest in our welfare, since ^^ there shall be joy before the
angels of God upon one sinner doing penance." — St. Luke,
XV. 10 : — and, finally, it has been shown that they have power
to intercede for us : — ^but let me ask any unprejudiced man if
common sense and unbiassed reason would not alone have led
to the same conclusion as is to be drawn firom all these texts ?
whether common sense and common feeling would not have
taught that those who have loved us on earth, and are now in
heaven receiving the reward of their virtues, will intercede for
us amid the many trials to which they know that we are
exposed? It will be found that, on this as on all other
questions, the doctrine of the Catholic is the most in accord*
ance with our reason and with the best feelings and sensibilities
of our nature. At all events, a Bible Christian cannot tell us
that our opinions are unsanctioned by the Bible. The Arch-
bishop of Canterbury has lately told one of his clergy, who
asked him what doctrine he should preach, to study the Bible
and to preach whatever he found in it. If a Catholic would
condescend to degrade God's eternal truth by making it de-
pendent upon the industry or the judgment of every private
student of the Bible, he too might answer, ^^ I have studied
my Bible, and it tells me to invoke and to pray to saints and
angels.*'
How many Protestants in England knew that the Bible said
so much in support of the Catholic's belief in the communion
of saints and angels ? The belief is clearly not anti-Scriptural !
Fasting and Abstinence.
In so far as the propriety of fasting and abstaining is a
matter of faith, it supposes the necessity of mortifying the body
in order to subject it more easily to the spirit ; in so far as
particular days have been set apart for fasting or abstinence by
the Catholic Church, we pay homage to its authority by follow-
ing its discipline.
Digitized by
Google
212 THE BIBLE CATHOLIC;
The Book of Common Prayer commands the members
of the Church of England to observe, as days of fasting
and abstinence, all those same days which . the Catholic
Church has set apart to be so observed by Catholics in
England. But as Protestants generally consider this order
of their Church as a relic of Catholicism, which they are at
liberty to cast from them, let us consider from what Scriptural
authority the Catholic Church deduces the propriety of directing
its followers to abstain and fast on certain appointed days.
Of the many texts that may be brought forward to prove
that fasting and mortification move Grod to mercy, I shall only
quote the foUovring. Jonah iii. 5, 10 : — " So the people of
Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast and put on sack-
cloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil
way ; and God repented of the evil diat he had said that he
would do unto them, and he did it not" Daniel x. 2, 3, 12 : —
'^ In those days, I, Daniel, was mourning full three weeks. I
ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine into my
mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all till three whole weeks
were fulfilled." ^^ Then said he unto me. Fear not, Daniel ;
for from the first day that thou didst set thy heart to under-
stand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were
heard, and I am come for thy words."
In the New Testament, also, may be found equal authority
for fjEtsting and abstinence.
St. Mark x. 28, 29: — "And when he was come into the
house, his disciples asked him privately. Why could not we
cast him (the devil) out. And he said unto them. This kind
can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting."
The apostles fasted. Acts xiii. 3 : — And when they bad
fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent
them away." Chap. xiv. 23 : — " And when they had ordained
them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they
commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed." Even
oiur blessed Lord himself has set us the example by having
" fasted forty days and forty nights." — St Matt iv. 2.
The founders of almost every religion have commanded their
followers to fast and to mortify the flesh.
We have showed from Scripture that it is incumbent on all
men to fast ; and having done so, we do not think it necessary
«to enter into any argument to prove that general propriety,
convenience, and edification, audiorized the Catholic Church
in selecting and naming some particular days on which all
believers throughout its jurisdiction should, by fasting and
it' *ial in union to God for the forgiveness of
Digitized by
Google
OR SCRIPTURE TBXTS FOR CATHOLIC DOCTRINE. 213
their sins and the continuance of his blessings, since Jesus has
said, ** Where there are two or three gathered together in my
name there am I in the midst of them." — ^Matt. xviii. 20.
There is the same motiye for fasting in common that there
is for praying in common ; and in both, Scripture authority
still justifies the Catholic.
The Number and Nature of the Sacraments of the
Catholic Church.
The Church of England declares that there are only two
sacraments, baptism and the Lord's supper. The Catholic
Church teaches that there are seyen sacraments ; baptism, con-
firmation, holy orders, matrimony, penance, extreme unction^
eucharist. I mention them in this order because it will be
thus more easy to treat of each.
On Baptism, I shall not speak, as the Protestant English
Church admits it to be a sacrament, and was heretofore thought
to hold the same doctrine as the Catholic Church with respect
to its effects and nature. What that Chiuch now teaches, recent
judgments have shown that it does not know itself. Having
proclaimed that each one may believe of it what he pleases, it
cannot and does not object to the creed of Catholic Christendom.
Confirmation is administered by Catholics and Protestants
with the same object — that of strengthening in the faith the
person confirmed and of invoking upon him the blessings oi
the Holy Ghost. That confirmation was administered by the
apostles with this intent, is proved by Acts viii. 15, 17 : — "Who,
when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might
receive die Holy Ghost : then laid their hands on them,
and they received the Holy Ghost.'* Also by Acts xix. 6 : —
"And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy
Ghost came on them ; and they spoke with tongues and pro-
phesied."
Catholics and Protestants administer confirmation by the
imposition of hands, and believe that it is followed by the
blessings of the Holy Ghost on him who receives worthily : the
imposition of hands is, therefore, "an outward and visible sign
of an inward and spiritual grace,'* which the Protestant " Cate-
chism, to BE learned of every PERSON BEFORE HE BE
BROUGHT TO BE CONFIRMED BY THE BiSHOP," declares to be
the meaning of the word ^^siicrameni.'*^
That a man should receive spiritual advantages from the mere
imposition of a bishop's hands on his head, betokens a super-
natural interference : the imposition is " an outward and visible
sign of an inward ^spiritual grace :" the sign is used and.
Digitized by
Google
121 4 THB BIBLE CATHOLIC ;
if grace follows, a sacrament is conferred. Therefore according
to even Protestant teaching, a Catholic is justified in beliering
confirmation to be a sacrament.
In the use of oil in administering confirmation, the Catholic
Church is justified by ancient Jewish practices as well as by the
following text ; 2 Corinth, i. 21,22: — "Now he which estab-
lisheth us with you in Christ and hath anointed us is God ; who
hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the spirit in our
hearts."
Holy Order stands next in our list of the sacraments of the
Catholic Church, and is believed to call down the grace of the
Holy Ohost upon the person ordained to the priesthood. Such
was the promise of Christ^s ordination of Ids apostles: — St.
John. XX. 22 : — ^^ When he had said this, he breadied on themj
and said to them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost."' With such
belief was it conferred by them : — 1 Tim. iv. 1 4 : — " Neglect not the
gift that is in thee, which was giyen thee by prophecy, with the
laying on of the hands of the presbytery." Also see 2 Tim. i. 6:
— ^^^ Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the
gift of Ood, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands."
From these texts, it appears that the Catholic Church is, war-
ranted by Scripture in administering holy orders by the impo-
sition of hands and that a spiritual grace follows such imposition:
— such ordination presents, therefore, ^^an outward and visible
sign of an inward and spiritual grace" which we have shown to
be the Protestant definition of the word sacrament.
The Protestant catechism therefore as well as Holy Scripture
supports the Catholic belief in the sacramental quality of holy
orders.
That Matrimony is something more than a civil engagement
between the parties may be gathered from those texts which
state it to represent the indissoluble union of Christ vnth his
Church, as implied by the Apostle in Eph. v. 32 : — "This is a
great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church."
Matt. xix. 6 : — ^**What therefore' God has joined together, let
not man put asunder." These are the words of Christ : they
prove that God is a party to the civil contract of matrimony :
God cannot have instituted a ceremony and declared that He is,
if I may so express myself, a party to it, without conferring
grace upon those engaged in it : the civil contract of marriage
is, therefore, "the outward and visible sign of the inward and
spiritual grace" — which constitutes a sacrament.
I again beg such as may not consider this argument satis-
factory to recollect that the Catholic interpretation of Scripture
is, at all events, as likely to be true as that of the Protestant ; I
must beg them also to ask themselves why marriage has been
Digitized by
Google
OR SCRIPTURE TEXTS FOR CATHOLIC DOCTRINE. 815
always celebrated by the clergy, and why it has been followed
by a nuptial benediction if the civil contract does not, in some
degree, partake of a religious sacrament ?
The Catholic Church refuses divorces on any plea whatever ;
I believe that it is generally acknowledged that, as a matter of
civil discipline, this regulation is the best : and although we find
in Matt xix. 9 : — " Whosoever shall put away his wife, except
it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adiQ-
tery," yet as neither St. Mark. x. 11, 12, nor St Luke xvi. 18, nor
St. Paul in 1 Cor. vii. 10, 11, or in Bom. vii. 2, 3, make this
exception while quoting the words of Christ, the Catholic
Church appears fiilly justified in its discipline even on Scriptural
authority.
Certainly Holy Scripture seems to give evidence strongly in
favour of the Ca^olic belief! It is evidently possible to be a
Bible Catholic !
Penance follows next in our order of the sacraments of the
Catholic Church.
That the priesthood of the Church established by Christ is
authorised to forgive sins on sincere repentance and purpose of
amendment, is gathered from the following texts : Matt. xvi. 19:
— "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven ;
and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be
loosed in heaven ;" and again the same words are repeated in
xviii. 18. St John xx. 22, 23 : — "And when he had said this,
he breathed on ihenty and saith unto them, receive ye the Holy
Ghost : Whosesoever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them ;
and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained.'^
The priest is, therefore, a minister between God and man to
whom Christ has given power to absolve from sins, the which
absolution He has promised shall be ratified in heaven : thus
did Christ institute confession: thus did He make it "an out^
ward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace"— that
is to say, a sacrament.
It may be here useful to observe that many Protestant divines
agree that the power of absolving froin sins as exercised by
tlie Catholic clergy neither could be nor was resigned at the
B;e£Qrmation ; and that such power has only been left imasserted
on account of the impossibility of making the people submit to
it. In proof that the Protestant Church did not resign this*
power 1 must quote the following passage from the order
FOR the Visitation of the Sick in the Book of Common
Prayer : — *^ Here shall the sick person be moved to make a
special confession of his sins, if he feel his conscience troubled
with any weighty matter. After which confession the priest
Digitized by
Google
216 THE BIBLE CATHOLIC ;
shall absolve him (if he hambly and heartily desire it) after this
sort : our Lord Jesus Christ who hath left power to his Church
to absolve all sinners who truly repent and believe in him, of
his great mercy forgive thee thine offences ; and by his authority
committed to me, I absolve thee from all thy sins, in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."
No follower of the Book of Common Prayer, no Bible
Christian can object to the Catholic Church on this subject.
Extreme Unction (or the anointing the dying with oil) is
proved to be a sacrament by the following passage in St. James
V. 14, 15 : — "Is any sick among you ? let him call for the elders
of the Church ; and let them pray over him, anointing him with
oil in the name of the Lord : and the prayer of faith shall
save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up ; and if he have
committed sins, they shall be forgiven him."
Thus sins are forgiven and even bodily health is restored by
faith and prayers, accompanied by the oil administered by the
priest; which administration is, therefore, "an outward and
visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace," and constitutes
a sacrament.
That the Protestant Church does not disregard the authority
of this passage in St. James's Epistle, is proved by the quotation
I have just given from its order for the visitation of the sick.
But there be Protestants who argue that the virtue of extreme
unction, as a sacrament, departed when it produced no longer
any visible miraculous effect, when the Lord no longer " raised
up the sick man." Yet people do still often recover after
having received this sacrament : may this not be through its
merits ? If the former argument be admitted, fEuth itself is no
longer necessary and the Christian religion ended with the
apostles ; for Christ says, in St. Luke xvi. 17 : — " And these
signs shall follow them that believe ; in my name they shall
cast out devils ; they shall speak with new tongues ; they shall
take up serpents :" — faith in Christ no longer produces these
and the other miraculous effects which are enumerated in the
text : did the religion of Christ, then, cease with the power of
working these miracles ? If not, extreme unction still retains
its sacramental qualities.
The Eucharist alone of the seven sacraments of the Catholic
Church remains to be treated of; and as Protestants acknow-
ledge it to be a sacrament, I have only to adduce those
Scriptural texts by which a Catholic may seek to explain or
justify the doctrine' of transubstantiation.
In the first place, we have the following, as Christ^s own
words in instituting the sacrament — ^Matt. xxvi. 26, 27, 28 : —
** And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed f/.
Digitized by
Google
OR SCRIPTURE TEXTS FOR CATHOLIC DOCTRINE. 217
und brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said. Take, eat ;
this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave ii
to them, saying, Drink ye all of it ; for this is my blood of the new
testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.''
The institution of the sacrament is thus recorded by St.
Mark xiv. 22, 23, 24: — ^'^ And as they did eat, Jesus took
bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave to them, and said,
Take, eat ; this is my body. And he took the cup, and when
he bad given thanks, he gave it to them : and they all drank
of it. And he said unto them. This is my blood of the new
testament, which is shed for many."
The event is thus mentioned by St. Luke xxii. 19, 20 : —
^'And he took bread, and gave thanks, and broke f7, and gave
unto them, saying. This is my body which is given for you :
this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after
supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood,
which is shed for you."
In all these passages, are not the words of Christ clear and
precise? — "This w" — not this represents. The form of the
institution is only mentioned by lliese three evangelists; and
we have seen that neither St. Matthew or St. Mark says aught
of " commemoration" or "remembrance:" St. Luke does; but
that the sacrifice is offered in commemoration of the passion of
Christ does not argue against the Real Presence — ^particularly
when all the other passages in Scripture uphold that doctrine.
True that it is difficult to believe ; but can you understand the
first principles of the Christian fedth ? — can you understand the
Trinity ? can you understand the mystery of the incarnation of
the second person ? — of the conception of his virgin Mother?
True that the doctrine of transubstantiation is difficult to
believe; but see whether Christ condescended to that diffi-
culty in favour of the wondering Jews — see whether he ex-
plained it away by retracting the literal interpretation which
they, who were presept and heard him speak, had been
compelled to put upon his words. Read the following
passages of St. John vi. 51, 52, and foUovring : — " I am the
living bread which came down from heaven : if any man eat
of this bread, he shall live for ever : and the bread that I
will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
The Jews, therefore, strove among themselves, saying, How can
this man give us Jiis flesh to eat ? Then Jesus said unto them,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son
of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso
eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life ; and
I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat
indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh
Digitized by
Google
218 THE BIBLE CATHOLIC ;
and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the
living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father ; so he
that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread
virhich came down from heaven : not as your fathers did eat
manna and are dead : he that eateth of this bread shall live for
ever. These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in
Capernaum. Many therefore of his disciples, when they had
heard this, said. This is a hard saying; who can hear it?
When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it,
he said unto them, Doth this offend you ? What and if ye
shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before i It
is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the
words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew
from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who
should betray him. And he said, therefore said 1 unto you,
that no man can come unto me except it were given unto him
of my Father. From that time many of his disciples went
back, and walked no more with him. Then Jesus said unto the
twelve. Will ye also go away ? Then Simon Peter answered
him. Lord, to whom shall we go ? Thou hast the words of
eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that
Christ, the Son of the living God."
In all this passage, does not Christ speak of the eucharist in
a literal sense ? — "For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood
is drink indeed" — "and the bread which I will give you is my
flesh" — ^not will represent my flesh — be a memorial of my
flesh. It is apparent that the Jews received the words in their
literal meaning; and, therefore, "walked no more vrith him:"
if Christ had not intended that his words should be so under-
stood, would he have permitted the Jews to abandon him, and
thus lose their chance of salvation through his doctrines rather
than explain to them that they were putting a wrong interpreta-
tion on his words ? But no ; he persists in them ; and without
further explaining himself to the twelve, he receives Peter's pro-
fession of faith in that doctrine which the Jews had just rejected.
Such are the terms in which the eucharist is spoken of by
the four evangelists.
Let us now see how St. Paul appears to have understood
the intention and the words of Christ— 1 Cor. x. 16 : — " The
cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the commnnion of the
blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the
communion of the body of Christ ?"—xi. 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28,
29 : — " For I have received of the Lord that which also I
delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in
which he was betrayed took bread ; and when he had given
Digitized by
Google
OR SCBIPTUBE TEXTS FOB CATHOLIC DOCTBINE. 219
thanks, he broke «7, and said. Take, eat: this is my body which
is broken for you : this do in remembrance of me. After the
same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped,
saying. This cup is the new testament in my blood : this do
ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often
as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's
death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread,
and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of
the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine him-
self, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
For he that eateth and drinketh unwordiily, eateth and drinketh
damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body."
The faith or worthiness of the receiver, has, then, nothing to
do with the real presence of the body and blood of Christ in
the sacrament ; for if it were not present, even to the unworthy
receiver, he could not be " guilty of the body and blood of the
Lord," or condemned for ^' not discerning the Lord's body."
In fine, those who assert that the apostles taught differently
from what the Catholic Church now teaches, must point out the
time at which the doctrine of transubstantiation was first intro-
duced : must name the year of the Lord in which all the world
went to sleep believing in the spiritual presence and woke in
the belief of the real presence — for history does not record the
period, although it is generally exact in mentioning all schisms
and questions in the Church. History, however, does record,
century by century, that the Catholic Church has ever taught
as it now teaches.
A Protestant believes that some spiritual change takes place
in the bread and wine at the time of consecration ; but no
spiritual change could take place without the intervention of a
supernatural power ; and if the Almighty does work a miracle
at the time, it is not more easy for him to change the substance
of the consecrated elements than to endow them with spirituality.
That Protestants do believe some change to be wrought at the
time of consecration is proved by the whole service, and by the
very word consecration, which either means that or means
nothing.
But does llie Protestant Church believe nothing more ? In
the Catechism, from which I have already quoted when speak-
ing of confirmation, I find the following passage : —
" Quest. What is the outward part or sign of the Lord's Supper ?
^Answ, Bread and wine, which the Lord has commanded to
be received.
** Quest. What is the inward part, or thing signified ?
'^Answ. The body and blood of Christ, which are verily and
indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lord's Supper."
Digitized by
Google
220 THE BIBLE CATHOLIC;
Saoh is the doctrine of the Book of Common Prayer: and the
Catholic Church teaches no more.
It is the discipline of the Catholic Church to administer the
sacrament of the eucharist under one kind only, belieying that
the body and. the blood are inseparable^ and that when we
receive the one we receive also the other. Where the perfect
body is, the blood must also be. This custom originated in
convenience and in what was known to be the practice of the
primitive ages. It is, moreover, justified by the following texts,
which I shall not quote at length : — St. John vi. 51, 57, 58 ;
and by the mention of one kind only in the following texts :—
Luke xxiv. 30, 31 ; Acts ii. 42, 46 ; chap. xx. 7. In 1 Cor. 27,
— "Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread or drink the
chalice of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body
and blood of the Lord," is corrupted in the Protestant Testa-
ment to "awrf drink :" the originsd is ^ mmi.
Such are the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, and
such are the texts that may be brought forward in support of diem.
And, indeed, when the Protestant Catechism says that Christ
has ordained only two sacraments " as generally necessary to
salvation,'' it seems to have some doubt that there may be
others, such as matrimony, holy orders, confirmation, and
extreme unction, that are not generally necessary, but which
are sacraments nevertheless.
The Infallibility op the Church
Is the last subject on which I have to speak; and if I can
succeed in proving what its title advances, I shall have ren-
dered all my preceding investigations useless; for I shall have
shown that, if the Church cannot teach false doctrines, all are
bound to believe whatever she promulgates as the truth.
According to the words of Christ, there can be only one
true Church — only one Church that teaches a true doctrine.
St. John X. 16: — "And other sheep I have which are not of
this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my
voice ; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." . Ephes.
iv. 4, 5 : — " There is one body, and one spirit, even as ye
are called in one hope of your calling ; one Lord, one faith,
one baptism."
No variation whatever from the doctrine of that Church is
admissible. St. Matt. v. 19: — "Whosoever, therefore, shall
break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men
so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven : but
whosoever shall do and teach ^A^m, the same shall be called
great in the kingdom of heaven."
Digitized by
Google
OR SCRIPTUKE TEXTS FOR CATHOLIC DOCTRINE. 221
The Church once established bj Christ most continue for
ever to teach the true doctrine of Christ. ^^And I say unto
thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my
Church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
Chap, xxviii. 20 : — *^ Teaching them to observe all things what-
soever I have commanded you : and, lo, I am with you alway,
even unto the end of the world. Amen." St. John xiv. 16, 26 : —
'^And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another
Comforter; that he may abide with you for ever. But the
Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will
send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all
things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."
Chap. xvi. 13 : — " Howbeit when he, the Spirit of trudi, i»
come, he will guide you into all truth ; for he shall not speak
of himself ; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak,
and he will show you all things to come."
God, therefore, promised that his holy Spirit should always
direct his Church and preserve it from teaching false doctrines, &c.
That all doctrines in any degree different from those of the one
faith which was preached to all men, ^^ beginning at Jerusalem,"
(Luke xxiv. 47) are displeasing to God, is proved by the follow-
ing texts. Ephes. iv. 11, 14: — ^^And he gave some, apostles;
and some, prophets; and some, evangelists ; and some, pastors and
teachers. That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to
and fro, and carried about with eveiy wind of doctrine, by the
slight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait
to deceive." Hebrews xiii. 9, 17: — "Be not carried about with
divers and strange doctrines. Obey them that have the rule
over you, and submit yourselves : for they watch for your souls,
as they must give account, that they may do it with joy, and
not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you." 1st Epistle of
John iv. 6 : — "We are of God : he that knoweth God, heareth
us ; he that is not of God, heareth not us. Hereby know we
the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error."
From these texts it appears that only one particular doctrine
is pleasing to Christ, and that Christ has promised to be with
the Church that teaches that doctrine unto the end of the world.
The Catholic Church is generally admitted to have taught the
true faith of Christ in the very beginning — ^at first ; if so, it was
then the Church of Christ — ^which He promised to protect from
error, to be with till the end of the world. Was he unwilling or
unable to keep his promise ?
When were the doctrines of the Catholic Church to which
Protestants, Anglicans and Dissenters object first introduced
and promulgated ? No one can tell : believe, therefore, history
which tells you that the Church has ever taught as it now
VOL. XI. B
Digitized by
Google
222 THE BIBLE CATHOLIC.
tieaches. Had it ever erred, its falling away would have proved
Christ to be either unable or unwilling to keep his promise of
guiding and watching over it unto the end of the world.
We have now seen, moreover, that all its several doctrines
may be justified from Scripture. A few single texts, perhaps,
may be adduced and appear to warrant other conclusions : but
place together all the passages that bear on each subject, and
all will support the Catholic doctrine and agree with one another:
whereas I defy you to wrest the passages I have quoted into a
support of your own Protestant opinions.
" There are," said the Lord Chancellor, in giving judgment in
the House of Lords,* " two rules of construction : one is that
words in an instrument clear and unambiguous in their meaning
are not to be defeated by words in a subsequent part of the
instrument of doubtful meaning. The second rule is that a
construction which makes all the parts of the instrument con-
sistent, is to be preferred to that which makes some parts
inconsistent."
Apply the rule when you would test the truth of any doctrine
by Scripture texts.
Admit, however, that the faith of Catholics is not quite opposed
to Scripture : admit that Scripture says very much in its favour :
admit that if we are to search the Scriptures and form our own
rule of faith, the Catholic need not refuse the challenge, but
may show text for text and be as good a Bible Christian as any
Protestant. Admit also that he is, only humanly speaking, as
likely to be right as the Protestant. He denies, indeed, the
Protestant's right to base his whole religion upon Scripture :
he reminds him that the whole of the Holy Scriptures were not
written till three parts of a century after the resurrection : that
until the art of printing was discovered, about 400 years ago,
a copy of the Scriptures, written out by hand, was so costly that
scarcely one in a parish could be obtained : that scarcely one
person in a parish, besides the priest, then knew how to read,
because books were so dear that they could not be bought : he
reminds him that even now scarcely one person in fifty through-
out the world is able to read : and he asks him if all those who
lived before the Scriptures were compiled, or who have been
unable to procure or to read them siQce, are condemned by God ?
No : our blessed Saviour commanded his apostles to ^^ preach
the gospel," to ^^ teach all nations : " he said nothing to them
about writing a book — though willing to inspire those who did
80 record his mercies : — he gave them authority ; he founded
* Marquis of Tweedale v Murray, 22d June, 1847.
Digitized by
Google
THE HOME-WATL. 223
his Church, and he said to them, *^ he that heareth you heareth
me, and he that despiseth you despiseth me.^ — ^Luke x. 16.
But if the Protestant will search the Scriptures, I will accom-
pany him. I will show him some of the texts on which I can,
from Scripture, justify my faith : I will show him more if he
wishes it, more than could be compressed into this little
treatise. I am not afraid of appealing to my Bible. With him,
I will act upon the boasted right of private judgment, and will
'^try all things,'' until that private judgment shows me that
there are some things beyond my limited imderstanding. Then
will I bless God for having given me an unerring guide ;
and leaving ^'the unlearned and the unstable, who wrest the
Scriptures to their own destruction** — as St. Peter complains
(2 Peter iii. 15, 16, 17,) that many did even in his time —
leaving these, I will submit my intei'pretation of them to the
interpretation of the Church, and I will be always ready to
quote to my Protestant brother the passages of that inspired
volume which first guided my judgment and then urged its
submission.*
THE HOME-WAlL-t
The Husband.
Tell me, my Beautiful, tell me, I pray thee,
How dost thou spend thy bright moments above ?
Let me, from heaven's high worship, delay thee.
To tell of our earth-home, our children, our love.
Oh, from those bright skies.
Cast down thy fond eyes ;
Look on me, bless me, and cling to me here !
Though doom'd to tarry
Beyond thee, my Mary,
Let me still think thy young spirit is near.
* To obviate suspicion the texts we have quoted are quoted from the Pro-
testant traDslatioD of the Scriptures.
t These words are written to suit a beautiful old Scottish air.
B 2
Digitized by
Google
224 THE HOME-WAIL.
The Children.
Hear me, my sweet Mother ! look on me praying ;
Look on thy children, watch over them still.
While we live on, let us live on obeying
All that we know is, or fiEtncy, thy will.
Dost thou not hear us ?
Art thou not near us ?
Keep us from all that thou canst not approve !
Though thou hast left us,
Grod, who bereft us.
Hears all thy prayers for the home of thy love.
The Friends.
Though thou hast left us, dear Friend ! let us ever
Cherish the thought of those moments or years
When thou wast with us in life, and when never
Joy found thee joyless or grief without tears.
Bright were those morning hours ;
Gay were life's opening flowers
That now o'erclouded or faded we see !
Friends leave us, one by one :
Sad night comes darkly on : —
Brighter beams out our remembrance of thee.
All.
But let us think that we still are united.
Heaven and earth are, in truth, very near.
Dear ones go from us ; but not all benighted.
While we look forwards, our path need appear.
Oh, think how blest will be
That bright eternity
Where we shall meet all for whom we now sigh !
Let us thank God for life
That gives friend, parent, wife,
First upon earth and for ever on high !
FUIMUS.
December Ibthy 1849.
Digitized by
Google
225
THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE.
(Continued from page 92 J
CHAP. V.
The determination that Cyril Derrington had come to, ^as to
quit England for ever, to travel towards Palestine, to visit, if
possible, the Ancient City itself and all that remains of those
places so dear to Christians of all denominations, so loved, so
revered by the followers of Christ in the Church he ordained.
Cyril idso proposed placing money in the hands of some
trusty friends to be applied, if ever needed, to the uses of Lady
Granby ; for his knowledge of her husband, and of his resources,
told him plainly, in spite of Lady Granby's own large property,
a time would come when his money would be valuable. And
although this plan was combatted both by his friend Harcourt
and by the B,ev. Mr. Howe, he still persisted in his intentions,
and disposed of what mercantile possessions he owned — turning
every thing into cash. This took him some time, rapid as were
his movements, regardless as he was of sacrifice ; and, diuing this
time, his friends perceived with regret that his devotion for Harriet
Granby suffered no relaxation, whilst his health was evidently
suffering from the effects of this devotion. Although recovered
from the fever, though his mind had recovered its former deci-
sion, and his energetic and persevering talent had again dis-
played itself, the pallid withered cheek, the sunken eye, and
low and tremulous voice, told too well that the end had
commenced ; that he was stricken by the hand that strikes all
low ; that the time was rapidly approaching when death would
claim another victim. — Cynl knew this, spoke of it, coveted the
very hour of its arrival.
^' In that moment when first I heard I had been betrayed,
and that the idol I had so venerated had thus deserted me, I,
in my agony, in sin, prayed then for death. In that Hour I
dedicated my whole fortune to her ; the only Motive that I have
to live is to save her, the only hope I have of ever knowing
peace is by the attainment of an early grave. In that Hour I
devoted myself to her — ^for that Motive alone I seek existence."
A large sum of money was invested under the trusteeship of
his reverend Pastor and Captain Harcourt, to be applied solely to
Lady Granby's use. Large sums were bestowed upod the various
charitable associations with which he was more immediately
connected ; and alone, for he refused a travelling companion,
imattended even by a servant, sick in mind and body, Derring-
ton, a man whose character deserved the esteem of all, departed.
Digitized by
Google
226 THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE.
His last words to Harcourt, as they shook hands at the
railway station, were —
** Write to me, Arthur, of aught you hear concerning her ; I
will arrange, as I proceed, how letters may be forwarded. Let
me know of all diat concerns hei:, her health, her happiness.
May God bless her ! May the Blessed Virgin shield her from
all difficulties."
It was soon perceptible to those who watched events with at
all an observant eye, that the style of living at Wilton Crescent,
coupled with the private extravagances of the owner of the
mansion, would soon exhaust a fortune much larger than the
heiress of the late Sir Valentine Byron was said to possess.
The parties they gave eclipsed all others of the day. Lady
William Frippingham rose in her party's estimation fiill fifty per
cent. An introduction to Lady Granby was considered an
event, and for that introduction, Lady William procured " any
good thing " in the gift of the person who sought it, and her
reputation for "tact" and "intrigue," became celebrated in
every country to which Great Britain exported a consul.
But during that brilliant triumph, Lady Granby — the fas-
cinating hostess — the amiable — the talented — the beautiful —
she whose portrait crowded the picture shops and the illustrated
periodicals, who was pronounced by the Morning Post to be
the gayest of the gay throng that flocked to her mansion, was
anything but at ease. As we stated, the sense of guilt was at
her heart, she felt she had sinned, and when the busy himi of
dissipation was over — in her own room — ^in the privacy of her
chamber, then reflection in all its stem reality forced itself upon
her, she was heavy and weary at the heart — was thoroughly
unhappy.
She felt herself an outcast from the faith in which in early
life she had walked, a despised and fallen being : and here the
infirmity of her character was so forcibly shown : instead of
seeking to atone for past neglect of religious duties, she
shrank from all connected with the Church of her Fathers, and
denied admission to her best fiiend and previous director, the
Rev. Herbert Clary, who often, but vainly, sought to procure an
interview with her.
This shrinking from the truth was, of course, highly pleasing
to Miss Randal, who, remaining at Wilton Crescent, and acting
as a spy for her patroness, took a peculiar pleasure in Lady
Granby's sbrrow, not exactly from any wish for her sufierings,
but from a hope, which was strong within her, that Lady Granby
might be brought from "darkness into light;" a proceeding
which Miss Randal and her chapel friends regarded as a very
probable circumstance.
Digitized by
Google
THE HOUK AND THE MOTIVE. 227
Inwaxdlj tortured in this mannery Lady Granby, to drown
thought, permitted herself to be dragged into the vortex of dissi-
pation by her husband, who, fond of gaiety and proud in seeing
his house so thronged, cared not, thought not, of the expense,
and never heeded die warnings which his sister even gave him.
With some of Lady Granby's ready cash he had got himself
into good credit amongst his money-lending friends ; and per-
ceived, should he want money now, there was every prospect of
procuring it on easy terms. Clifi became a kind of secretary to
Sir John and his Lady, managed all their money matters to the
infinite gratification of that gentleman's tailor and to the general
improvement of his own personal appearance. And in this
capacity kept so strict an account vrith Lady Granby's Irish
agents, as to find Sir John in funds for some length of time.
Lord Roland Aginoourt had been honoured with invitations
to Lady Granby's reunions, and his reports to his friends at
Putney, were not, even when softened considerably by Harcourt,
calculated to cheer poor Cyril in his voluntary exile : Lord Roland
only saw the exterior, and knew not the internal feelings of the
vivacious lady.
How many smiling faces in this vast metropolis are but so
many masks to hearts full of anguish and misery ! How many
fair brows conceal the blackest designs; and under the form
of candour, how much hypocrisy walks unknown !
Mr. Glifit, however much obliged to his friend for the position
which he now filled, soon managed to get into hot- water with
Sir John. To any appeal the Baronet made for money, his
Lady referred him always to Mr. Clift. That gentleman, of
course, always supplied his patron while money was plentiful ;
but, as the balance at Coutts' began to diminish, and the remit-
tances firom Ireland fewer and fewer, Mr, Clift, who, while
respecting his former ally, respected his present situation more,
began to argue with Sir John upon any fresh demands for money.
" The fact is — yes, it is a fact — either we must cease giving
entertainments, or you. Sir John — gad, yes — you must cease
to require money. No rent roll can stand it — gad, yes — no
rent roll."
"Hang it, Clift," said Sir John, on one occasion, '*I must
have money, I got completely cleaned out last night."
" You do every night — gad, yes — every night."
" Psha ! what is money made for ? Besides I want to retrieve
my losses."
" So do all people. But, gad, yes, somehow those who want
this sort of thing, never — no never — do it."
" Well, Clift, I must have four hundred now ; I owe Lord
Dacre three of it."
Digitized by
Google
228 THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE.
"He's rich and can wait."
" Nonsense, nonsense. It's a debt of honour."
** I've no money, Sir John — gad, none — positively none."
" This is joking, Clift," said Sir John Granby, getting angry,
^^ You are my wife's manager I know, but not ray master. Come,
no more of diis ; I must have it>"
"You must be a deucedly clever fellow to get it. Sir John,
from me," replied Clift. " Old Sullivan hasn't sent a penny of
rent these three months ; and says, moreover, it isn't very likely
to come for three mouths more — Coutts' account looks bad."
Sir John looked black at this announcement.
" I must borrow money myself," said the Baronet ; " but,
zounds ! Clift, how quick her fortune's gone."
There was a black look, a vile and bitter look, upon Sir John's
countenance then, which said as plain as words could say it, .
He had married but for that fortune. Clift saw it — and noted it.
" It must be a very extensive fortune — gad, yes, very extensive
fortune — that could stand both of your doings. Reunions, balls,
dinners twice a week, are bad enough : but when gambling is
added with an invariable run of ill luck, the matter gets more
complicated, and the best fortune must go."
It was a truth, unpalatable though to Sir John ; but he banished
the thought from his mind, and again went to a money-lender.
This state of things had occurred in six months from their
marriage — ^a fine fortune had been nearly all expended, and the
career of extravagance they were both pursuing promised a
speedy final end to it. True, the failure of remittances from
Ireland had somewhat cramped them, fitmine and disease had
set in around Byronville, and all the endeavours of Lady
Granby's agent failed in procuring rents. Certainly, the kind-
hearted steward, Mr. Decimus Sullivan, having a knowledge of
his mistress's vast fortune, took no harsh measures against an
honest regular tenantry, beaten down now by a visitation from
above. The letters of Mr. Clift, he ascribed to the sharpness
of the London man of business, and never for once doubted but
that this dear young lady, as he still called her, was rolling in
riches. By-and-bye, when things got worse, he wrote to her
direct, but these letters being sealed with his official seal, were
pounced upon by the watchful Clift, and kept from Lady
Granby's hand.
The distress at Byronville was mentioned cautiously to her,
and a recommendation given to curtail some of the expenses;
but not a word as to the suffering farmers and cotters soliciting
aid from their landlady — not a word as to the dead and dying
now upon the estate. Clift forbore to speak of this, and Mr.
Decimus Sullivan received a reply from Clift himself, that while
Lady Granby sympathised deeply with her suffering tenantry,
Digitized by
Google
THE ROUB AND THE MOTIVE. 229
she was so deranged in her afiairs, by the non- receipt of monies
from B3rronYille, that she was unable at present to afford the
slightest pecuniary relief.
And it was on that same night, that such a letter was de-
spatched— the night of that day on which Sir John sought his
old friends — that the apartments of Wilton Crescent were in a
state of brilliancy, and the gay throng there little thought of
the precipice on which their hostess stood. The worst of all
precipices to the gay world — a monetary one.
In one comer of the room, during the evening, ViUars en-
countered Lady William Frippingham and a venerable arch-
deacon in earnest discourse. Upon seeing him Lady William
left her companion, and addressed herself to Yillars.
**What say your friends, Mr. Villars, to Lady Granby's
proceedings ?"
" My friends. Lady William ?" replied Villars.
" Your friends at Putney, Mr. Villars ; oh, oh, I know your
intimacy with Captain Harcourt, and his, with Mr. Derrington."
" Your Ladyship knows every thing and every body," answered
ViUars.
"Without noticing what, perhaps, you mean as a compli-
ment, tell me what remarks do your friends make,"
" Would it be fair to report conversations ?"
** Yes ! I will report one to you. I was speaking to Arch-
deacon D -d respecting a living in his gift, and which I
thought particularly suitable for you."
" You are a clever woman. Lady William, but I am not
ordained," said Villars.
" You are of course waiting for a living before ordination,"
said her. Ladyship. " The church, without its temporalities,
will not suit Mr. Villars."
" Your Ladyship conquers every body."
" You should say, Mr. Villars, pays every one their price,"
remarked Lord Boland, joining them istt the moment, and over-
hearing Villars's last exclamation.
" Some iHen," said Lady William instantly, and giving a look
of meaning to Lord Roland, " are beyond all price."
" That I deny," said Villars, " if I may be pardoned for the
flat contradiction, but Lord Roland can better answer your
question than myself, as he is often at Putney."
** Is there any attraction there ?" asked Lady William eagerly.
" There must be attraction, or 1 should not go," said his
Lordship evasively. " But what was the question, and I will
try to answer it."
Lady William repeated it.
" What does your Lordship think they could say ?"
Digitized by
Google
230 THE HOUK AND THE MOTIVE.
" My question, Lord Roland, was what they said ; not, what
they might say."
^^ How close you diplomatic ladies keep us to the question.
Well, they say but little."
" But that little ?"
" Is not so favourable as it might be."
" Do they hazard conjectures for the future ?"
"Yes."
" Utter ruin ?"
Lord Roland nodded assent. Lady William moved away.
" What a cold-blooded creature !" said his Lordship half to
himself; " so fair a form, so marble a heart."
" That's rather an attempt to improve Shakespere," said
Villars.
" You heard Lady William's questions ?"
" I did."
" Why were they put ? "
Villars shrugged his shoulders.
" 1 am afraid Lady William finds the plunder not so great as
she expected, and that more of it has passed away than she was
acquainted with ; and that, in fact, she had been outwitted by
her dear brother, and is littie the better for the match."
Villars's guess was not far wrong: the Lady William was
really grieved that the star she had herself placed in the fashion-
able firmament was doomed to appear for so short a time.
With her, the same amount of money would have gone ten
times the length ; and, although she had suggested the parties
given, she had not anticipated the loss of such large sums at
die gambling table. Lady William looked at these entertain-
ments in the light of so many adventures, and had profited
largely by them.
Lady Granby, poor soul, had no idea of the position in which
she stood. When she wanted money, she signed the drafts
Clift put before her : Clift also procured her signature to powers
of attorney for the sale of her stock. Of all this she kept no
account. Excitement kept her from thinking : in thought alone
was she miserable. It was no wonder, believing as she still did
in the affection of her husband, that she ceased all thought of
her pecuniary position, and left to her natural protector and to
her man of business, the task of regulating her expenditure by
her income.
Alas ! her career was but a short one. The Hour was fast
arriving when it must end its pleasurable course. He who
would have saved her firom this, was broken-hearted in another
land ; and he who had sworn to cherish and protect her, was
borrowing money upon her security, and ruining her in a career
of extravagance and folly. — (To be concluded next month, J
Digitized by
Google
281
VERSES FOR THE MONTH.*
ST. JOHN BAPTIST.
Pass we not the forerunner's birth,
Priest Zaehaxiah's son,
Who oame to warn the guilty earth —
The human angel — John.
The " angel" sent before His face ;
The "voice" all should obey,
Who bid them hail the coming grace,
And clear the Saviour's way.
"What think you," all the neighbours said,
"What shall this child become ?
"The Lord's high hand was o'er him laid
"E'en from his mother's womb."
What moves along the desert sand
And checkers Jordan's yellow strand ?
The noon-day sun pours down its rays.
Spangling the stony ground :
No breeze among the palm-grove plays,
Whose leaves droop flagging round :
The locusts chirrup through the air :
The honey-bees light burdens bear
Back to their rocky hive :
Light burdens can they gather now.
The sun has parch'd all flowers that blow,
There's scarcel}'^ one alive.
Yet labouring that scorch'd desert o'er.
Thousands press on to Jordan's shore : —
Seek they its cooling tide ?
Not so ! they bow that youth before —
That stem, wild youth, whose arm, on high.
Calls judgment from the glaring sky
On all the assembly wide.
They bow : they smite their breasts : they weep :
* From " Church Hymns in English that may be sung to the old Church
Music, with approbation, and other Poems." By R. Beste, Esq., published
by Burns and Lambert.
Digitized by
Google
232 VERSES FOR THE MONTH.
He leads them down the sand-bank steep
And gains the Jordan side.
They speed : they throng the arid shore :
And humbly crave the preacher pour
That saving wave each forehead o'er.
" True," said he : " thus do I baptize :
*^ But mightier far will One arise :
" And, through the Holy Ghost, will lave
" Your sins with fire and truly save."
And now tVas eve. The crowds were gone,
Or tum'd them homewards one by one.
A stranger meekly drew him near :
Calm dwelt upon his lofty brow :
His eye was calm, and fiill, and clear :
His gesture calm : His paces slow.
He stept within the Jordan's tide.
And bow'd the Baptist stem beside.
Unwonted awe the Baptist felt
As that meek form before him knelt.
Trembling, he rais'd his arm, and shed
The water o'er that lowly head : —
The heavens were op'd : the parted cloud
Sho w'd light : a dove of light came down :
Then spoke a voice in accents loud,
" This is my well-beloved Son."
" And who," the crowds demand, " is he,
" Who is this John all flock to see ?"
The Son of Man replied — and never
Such praise was given by such a giver —
" Of all men bom on earth, not one
" Has risen yet more great than John."
Let us, then, keep, with joy the day
That bids us still record
The birth of him who clear'd the way —
Forerunner of the Lord.
John to whom first the Christ was shown.
Greatest on earth ere heaven was won,
Grant that hereafter, we may see
Him who was first reveal'd by thee.
Digitized by
Google
233
THE CHAPEL ROCK:
A LEGEND OF ACJST FEBRY.
From the J^ote Book of a Rambler.
One bright frosty evening in January, the train from London,
in which we joumied, arrived at the Bristol terminus some hours
after its appointed time, owing to a heavy snow storm which had
fedlen in the morning and completely blocked up several of the
cuttings on the line. After having succeeded in securing our own
baggage, we hastened to an adjoining hotel, exempt from the
ordeal which a fellow passenger was undergoing, in collecting
the respective bandboxes and carpet bags of a better- half and
only four amiable daughters, whose incessant vociferations so
perplexed him that the baggage was captured by rival cab-men,
which the hands of a Briareus and the eyes of an Argus could
scarcely have prevented. *^ Matrimony has many joys, but
celibacy none," so sayeth the proverb : our ancestor, 'tis evident,
never made family expeditions by railway.
From the evidence of a demure and sleepy factotum, whose
voice was as noiseless as his steps over the matting of the cofiee-
room, and whose greasy dress-coat and outr^s cut trowsers
looked as all things in Bristol do look, we discovered that the
delay in reaching Bristol had been fatal to us ; and that no con-
veyance was to be had that night, whereby we could reach our
destination, an isolated spot some few miles from Blackrock, in
Monmouthshire.
To individuals who, with a gay and finical banker of the last
century, assert that a man requires no more sleep than can be
obtained in the progress of a hackney-coach from Hyde Park to
Lombard Street, any premonitory warning in respect to the
denizens of Bristol beds will be unnecessary. But so dis-
agreeable a retrospect of previous experience at a Bristol hotel,
conjoined to our anxiety to reach the object of our present peram-
bulations, conquered the natural repugnance we felt to under-
take the remainder of the distance on foot Fifteen miles, after
six o'clock, in the cheerless cold of a winter's night, does not
instil hilarity into one's soul ; but the alternative was not to be
thought of, and we started for Aust Feny.
The ten miles of country which intervene betwixt Bristol and
the Ferry, or New Passage, during the sunny months of the
year, well supports the character which the land on either side
of the Severn has so justly earned for romantic scenery and
Digitized by
Google
234 THE CHAPBL ROCK.
enchanting landscapes : — ^long ranges of steep and lofky hills,
decked on their snmmits by rich woodland and evergreen pre-
serves, between which the mansions of the Bristol merchants
occasionally appear, and from the magnitude and beauty of their
construction, record at once the princely wealth and elegant
taste of the ovmers ; — ^while amid the hollow glens and pic-
turesque valleys, the unassuming village with its Gothic church,
reigns in undisturbed tranquillity ; as though the pedantic inno-
vation of this age had not yet infused its desecrating spirit among
the pristine inhabitants of the spot, but that the simplicity and
Christian fervour that enriched the columns of their ancient
church, and those voices which were wont to echo the midnight
matins through its vaulted roof — ^but now silent as the flag-stones
in its glorious aisle — still held their noble and soothing influ-
ence among them.
But the varied hues of the far-stretching hills, and the rich
culture of the secluded dells were, upon this journey, enveloped
in one vast mantle of snow, on which the moon shone with ihat
lustre which the clear frosty atmosphere of a winter's night can
alone produce. The snow crunched under our feet, and our
fine " Havanna ^ burned red, suffusing a fragrance along our
path which would have converted the stony heart of the most
inveterate anti-tobacconist. It is a monotonous wayfaring, how-
ever, through the snow-clad country ; and despite the pleasing
associations which some well-known point would conjure up,
we wearied of one perpetual, unceasing whiteness ; and in the
figurative aspirations of Solomon, we unconsciously murmured,
*^ Oh that the winter were passed, that the rain were over and
gone, that the fig-tree would put forth her green figs, and the
vines vnth the tender grape would give a good smell ; that the
flowers would appear on the earth ; the time of the singing birds
come, and the voice of the turtle be once more heard in the
land ! " So impressed, our sight found relief as it rested upon
the ancient turrets and ruin keep of Blaise Castle, as it peers
with solemn aspect from above its dark scenery of fir trees.
And what reflections will not such an object, at such a moment,
create in the mind of even the most superficial moralist ? How
the eye of fancy will restore that old ruin to the majesty of its
prime, held during what the spurious morality of the present
day terms the ages of superstition ; will people once more its
silent halls with the valiant knights and courtly dames of the
olden times, those firm and warlike spirits who wrested the
liberties of England from the tyranny of its oppressive monarchs,
and carried terror and dismay among the Paynim desecrators
of the Holy Sepulchre ! What a tale of mortality lies moulder-
ing there ! What a lasting monument to the hollowness of
Digitized by
Google
THE CHAPEL ROCK. 235
earthly renown ! That which once bade defiance to all foes and
dictated laws to its hundred vassals, now trampled on by a
pigmy race, who scratch their mean initials upon walls which
haye withstood for centuries the shock of war and the hand of
time !
Did the dark ignorance of those rude times so utterly obscure
the minds of our Catholic ancestors, that English hospitality
and bafonial magnificence lend no bright pages to history, for
modem economists to boast of, or eloquent essayists to depict
in glowing colours? Or is the virtuous shudder, with which
modem sanctity imbibes the tale of monkish superstition, less
bigoted than that which lived of yore ? Have those benighted
illiterate men left no monuments by which their character can
be redeemed from the aspersions of modern enlightenment;
or is it true that the powerful diction of poetry and romance
are insufficient to extol the beauties of a Tinteme, a Neath, or
Melrose, which are but remnants of those sublime edifices which,
if we mistake not, were raised by monkish hands to the glory
of God, and whose designs emanated from the superstitious
conceptions of monkish intellects? May it not be said that
English hospitality lies buried amid the ruins of the Cmsader's
castle, and the fervour of religion's enthusiastic magnificence
lies crumbling amid the remnants of monastic architecture ?
While such thoughts hurried through our mind, inspiring all
the warmth of an insatiate admirer of antiquity, our footsteps
had not tarried. Though the old castle still filled our mind,
no sooner was the continuity of such reflections broken, than,
with the aid of a dilapidated milestone, we discovered our
vicinity to the ferry, a tnith made the more agreeable by the
sudden transition of the night from brightness into a sullen
gloom, preparatory to a coming storm. As the aerial fleece
floated by us in intermittant flakes, we mentally resolved, upon
reaching the ferry, to sound a halt for the night At the immi-
nent danger of broken bones, among the blocks of stone
originally intended for a pier, we scrambled to the water's
edge, where the discovery of our true position became anything
but enlivening. The snow had graduaUy increased in thick-
ness, and was now falling fast and furious, drifted by the
cutting blast over the bosom of the Severn in imceasing clouds,
so that with difficulty we could discern two or three boats
slumbering peacefully in the mud. To these we made, but,
alas, no sign of animation was in them : we turned towards
the shore ; a huge pile, with quaint gables, loomed untenanted
through the drift ; it had, no doubt, in more prosperous
days, afforded shelter to hungry traveller and weary beast, but
now, cold and deserted, seemed as forlorn as ourselves. In
Digitized by
Google
236 THE CHAPEL ROCKr
Tain we shouted ; the storm aJone caught up the sound, as it
was borne by the blast down the river, till at last its dying
echoes resembled cries for help from some poor drowning soul.
So dreary a spot had we never seen ; we felt as if we had
wandered into the regions of time that was, and the chill ran
through our frozen blood as we seemed to forni a part of the
death-like scene.
In such a direful extremity, remembrance of a comfortable
looking farmhouse, lying a short distance from the main road,
suggested the nowise unpleasant supposition regarding the
exact amount of old English hospitality that might linger
about its thatched roof and perched doorway, or nestle among
the snug comers of its ancient chimney. Desperate it certainly
was, but we resolved to hazard the venture of finding that
which has long since died out with knight-errantry and the
trenchant propensities of a Friar Tuck, and forthwith we
knocked a bold summons at the portly door.
Shades of our ancestors! what an individual to represent
your goodly Bonifaces ! Five feet one, with a short neck,
apocryphal rotundity of figure, but whose countenance developed
some slight affinity to old English cheer, was the wight our
summons had conjured from within ; and the welcome, a stare
of unqualified surprise, with these mysterious words, " Welly to
— be sure^^ and a studious surveyance of our person by the light
of the flickering candle, was finally terminated by a gust of
wind extinguishing the fiame. A kind gentie-looking young
woman, of slim figure and soft eyes, shortly appeared in the
passage, and with a modest curtsey begged us to come in, our
first firiend keeping well in the back-ground. We did so, aad
told our tale, the tale of a benighted traveller. No weary palmer,
firesh wafted from the hallowed land of Palestine, ever received
more courteous homage or hospitable welcome than did we
from our kind host and hostess, and though Mr. BonifEice
could not entirely forego expressing his siuprise at our dis-
agreeable position in his laconic sentence, he was most polite
and assiduous in divesting us of our dreadnought coat and
boots, whilst our pretty hostess chattered incessantly of colds,
sore throats, and even sudden death from all manner of cramps,
which would inevitably result if we refused to exchange our
own damp socks for a pair of ner liege lord's own interminable
lambswool stockings.
One hour after owe arrival, while, with slippered feet and
grateful heart, we drew our chair into a snug corner of that
huge chimney, up which Mr. Boniface's waggoner and team
could have proceeded, with a foot path to spare, the inward
man having been recruited upon the substantial fare and nut-
Digitized by
Google
THE CHAPEL ROCK. £37
brown October of mine host, and with inward glee we bade
defiance to the howling storm without, singing witti the poet,
" No frost, no snow, no wind, I trow,
Can hurt me if I wold,
I am so wrapped and thoroughly lapped
Of jolly good ale and old."
For the light foot and quick hand of our hostess had arranged
a small table for us and our loquacious host, with whom we
were on the best imaginable terms, upon which table shortly
appeared an antiquated tobacco-bowl, ^ith a still more anti**
quated bottle, Ipoking down in stoical contempt upon the
modem tumblers and cut-glass sugar basins. While contem^
plating such good things, past and prospectiYC) we suddenly
commenced the following dialogue witib pur host.
^^ Mr. BonifiBU^, will you inform us by what right and tide
70U parade upon that waU the heraldic ensign of your illustrious
ancestors?'' in which speech we alluded to a framed painting
of an escutcheon, {gules, three barbed arrows, argent. Crest,
on a wreath a dexter arm bended at the elbow and armed,
proper, bound about with a ribband, gules, holding an arrow,)
in size little inferior to the shield carried by our mailed fore-
fathers in war or tournament.
"Aye, aye, Sir, — surely — ^them's the — ^what do you oaU 'ems,
Ann ? coats and "
" Coats with arms," suggested his busy wife, proudly.
** That's it, Sir, — ^that's it. Wel]^ you must know, my aiicedtor
had that ere painting done in honour of his Majesty, Chaxles
the Second, when he rescued him from Oliver Crom'ell and
his set. And you see the chain like and picture hanging round
them, which is a perfect likeness of what the king give him, as
far as he could remember it afore he threw it into the river,
like no end of a fool, when him and the captain got scuffling
about it. But I'll be bound, Sir, you have read on't, often and
ofiten, in th^ big records such as our squire is so fond of looking
at. Lor' are, often and often, I'll be bound."
We expressed our ifegret of entire ignorance.
^ Never heard tell o' that ? Well, to be sure, I never heard
the like of that, ha, ha ! Shall I tell the gentleman how it was,
Ann?"
This queiy was put to Our hostess^ who, upon our earnest
request, granted permission to het lord to repeat the " oft told
tale," which permission seemed to afford him undisguised
pleasure, and assuming directly an air of mystic importance,
after some preparatory whiffs and sips, commenced. But as it
was recited with many deviations and indirect dissertations, and
VOL. XI. s
Digitized by
Google
238 THE CHAPEL ROCK.
widud expressed in the strongidiomatic phraseology of the county j
we will place it before our readers in a more intelligible order.
The Chapel Rock.
At sunrise one morning in the September of 1651, a very few
days subsequent to the decisive overthrow of the Royalists at
Worcester, four stout fishermen were engaged in endeavouring
to float an unwieldy boat, then safely lodged
" On the gentle Severn's sedgy bank;"
a task, owing to the deep embankment of mud and a low tide,
that required a considerable degree of physical power and
much ingenious manoBuvring. Their wonted perseverance,
however, succeeded in accomplishing the feat, and the boat
floated in deep water. This done, one of the number, a fine
athletic youth, left the party and entered a small coppice, a
short distance from the banks, from which he again emerged,
•accompanied by two cavaliers, one of whom, despite the mean
apparel which had been adopted for more effectual conceal-
ment, might easily have been recognised as the fugitive Charles.'
The disastrous success which had recently befaUen his arms,
the mental anxieties attendant upon his unseemly and dangerous
flight, with the hot breath of the Parliament hounds close upon
him, and the bodily fatigues which he had lately undergone,
had not yet depressed the spirits of the Merry Monarch, for he
joked and chattered with his conductor as though he were
embarking at Whitehall, surrounded by his courtiers, for a
pleasure sail to Greenwich. Upon approaching the boat the
king stepped slowly from stone to stone to avoid the mud, a
plan which seemed to augment the fears of his conductor, who
at last reproached him respectfully for thus tarrying, and taking
him in his brawny arms as though but a child, placed him
safely in the boat. Though
" Sweet Severn's flood "
here measures some two miles across, the keel soon grated on
the pebbly shore of Monmouthshire. The early morning had
grown into open day, and the fishermen were variously occupied
with the craft of their precarious living, when a party of Parlia-
mentarians reached the spot that had so lately witnessed the
flight of the king. Cromwell had taken the precaution to break
up the passage boats, and detaching troops over die country,
he surmised that it would be impossible for Charles to elude
the vigilant pursuit, egged on by the prospect of obtaining the
blood-money promised for his head. The present party con-
stituted a small company of ^^prick-eared knaves,'' as llie
Digitized by
Google
THE CHAPEL BOCK. 239
Cavaliers were accustomed to term them, headed by a Captain,
who having obtained scent of the royal game, were, with the
sagacity of bloodhounds, diligently bearing down upon the prey.
"Prithee, good friend Hale, have you seen Charles Stuart
within these twelve hours^?" demanded the Captain, addressing
the young boatman*
"Lord o'mighty, Captain, are thou gone daft, to ask me such
a question? Why, man, it is three year ago come next
January since he had the misfortune — "
" Never mind, honest friend, what he had," interrupted the
soldier; "I mean the son of Charles Stuart, the traitor's son."
" Whou ! — the King, eh ! Come now. Captain, if you had
named him at once, we would have had no words of cross-
questioning."
"Hale, Hale, be not ungodly, and deceive not the Lord's
servants. Time presses — say, who was it you ferried over this
morning ?"
"Do you think we Goliahs, as you talk so much about, to
carry a smack like ow'n, through six foot o'mud at low-tide —
Nay, Captain, your horsemen are o'er sharp, to let a poor
fisherman earn an honest penny nowise a' that way,"
" You have crossed not the river, friend, you say," persisted
the godly man, "nor yet fished; then how comes the boat as
tho' fresh out of the water."
" Thou art o'er 'cute. Captain, for such as me, and can make
fish-nets out of sea weeds to catch the like of me in ; the boat's as
the tide left it for all I wot of it," sulkily returned the fisherman.
"And did the tide leave this, liar?" roared the Puritan,
snatching a small locket suspended by a gold chain from the
breast of the boatman, "what trinket of Satan is this ? — By the
Lord of Israel, the traitor Charles Stuart — ^Down with diem,
men ! traitors !"
" Thou clept-eared thief, release it," cried Hale, darting. at
the soldier, and felling him at a blow ; then wrenching the
miniature from him, threw it far into the river.
In another instant the whole were made prisoners and firmly
secured.
It now became the Captain's object to pass the river without
the delay of a moment ; but well knowing the many dangerous
shoals with which the Severn abounds, it was essential to release
his captives, and compel them to ferry his party over. In this
he was frustrated ; for the sturdy fishermen, one and all staunch
Jacobites, refused to lift an oar for the purpose. Bribes, or
threats, having been resorted to in vain, he resolved to try the
torture upon Hale's father, thus to move the son, through the
parent's agony, — and he was stripped for the lash. The project
s 2
Digitized by
Google
240 THE CHAPEL ROCK.
succeeded ; for young Hale, after oonsulting bis comrades in a
few whispered words, consented to convey them across. The
boat launched, the party embarked, and to prevent treachery, a
soldier stood with a petronel over each of the boatmen. The
object towards which the boat was making may still be dis-
cerned by the traveller, lying about two miles below the modem
passage, over the Severn, on the Welsh coast. The scene
around it is as strikingly romantic as any which this our lovely
isle can afford, was in the time of which we write far more wild.
No varied hues of cultivated land rested on the sides of the
heathy mountains, nor spreading elms threw their shade over
oraggy rocks and heeding precipices. No sound of human
footfall had disturbed the peaceful browsing of the wild goat-
flocks, or startled the timid hind from her fern-bed. The
mountains sloped in undulating beauty, till they reached Severn's
banks, ninning out at one spot, at least so it appeared, as though
to form a promontory in the river. We say, appeared, as one
who stands on the opposite shore, is invited to believe this pro-
jection a continuation of land, whereas it is an island, the
Chapel Rock, and between which and the main land, the river
rushes with the impetuosity of a mountain torrent. The floods
of two centuries have now considerably reduced its size, yet
still at low water it maintains its deceptive appearance.
To this spot, then, did young Hale steer the boat with
deadly purpose, and as it bumped against the projecting rock,
the misguided Puritans sprang eagerly on shore, tendering no
thanks or reward for the fishermen's labour. Not less eagerly
did they ply their oars from the rocks, well knowing each
stroke earned them farther from their enemies' bullets. But a
few minutes elapsed ere the foremost of CromwelFs emissaries
discovered the deception that their treacherous guides had
practised, and the bullets whistled around the receding boat
and its little crew. But harmless: and when, as the balls
began to fall short of their mark, the sturdy boatmen, resting
on their oars, cheered derisively to their victims and vigorously
for King Charles, and were replied to by the execrations of the
deluded Roundheads. The sorry fate of the champions of the
Commonwealth was some years afterwards commemorated by
the erection of a rude pile of stone, covering their common
grave, and in the legendary song of Severn-side the gallant
boatmen bear honourable mention. The tide washed for many
a day, and the summer sun bleached white, the monumental
stones, till one by one they sought the river's bed, and now
but one or two remain to record not a solitary instance of the
vengeance heaped by the Cavaliers upon their hated foes, the
^^ psalm-singing Roundheads."
Digitized by
Google
241
THE AGE WE LIVE IN.
BY THE EDITOB.
We have all heaxd of the Ages of Faith: Eenelm Digby's
beautiful works under that name, invest certain epochs with a
charm dear to all Catholic minds. The Ages of Faith are repre-
sented as the time of all that was noble, chivalrous, religious^
self-denying. The age we live in is not of that number. It is
not self-denying. On the contrary : as the Borough Member
of Parliament said that he represented his own breeches pocket,
so, iu this age, is self-interest most thoroughly represented in
the mind of each one. Egotism is assuredly not in Schedule A.
Few take the trouble of disguising it : if they attempt to do so,
it is under so thin a veil that they care not whether it discover
itself or not. It is the one idea that pervades and excludes
every other idea.
A country squire was so sensible of this that he said to bis
brother the Rector, '^ I can't tell how it is, Tom ; but I can never
fix my mind to my prayers : — off it bolts directly into some
track. of more interest to myself."
" For shame, Robert ! " replied the Rector : " what interest
can be so important to you as that of divine worship ? ^
" Now don't preach, Tom^" interrupted the Squire. ** 111 tell
you what it is. Do you stand aside and say the Lord's Prayer
once over : and if you can then pledge me your word that your
mind has not wandered to other interests, I'll give you my black
riding mare."
"Done !" cried the Rector ; and he withdrew decorously to
the window and began repeating the prayer. But alas ! alas !
the interest of the age we live in — self-interest— was too strong
for him. Ere the petition was half made, he turned abruptly
to his brother exclaiming : —
" And the saddle, too ? will you not give me the saddle ? "
This might have occurred to the follower of any creed whose
mind was also absorbed by the creed of the day.
In the Ages of Faith, as Digby represents them ; in the ages
of gold, as the poets paint them ; in the ages of Merry England,
that is to say of Catholic England, as history records it, a different
spirit animated mankind. A frank, joyous, brotherly, pious senti-
ment of fellow-feeling then boimd man to man : and amid all the
barbarities,war8 and horrors of the times, the poor were welcomed,
the rich were feasted: and although one knight might place
Digitized by
Google
242 THE AGE WE LIVE IN.
another behind him on his war-horse and bear him from a com-
mon enemy that they might together resume their interrupted
single combat about a lost helmet —
** Oh gran bonta de* cavallieri antichi ! "*
yet was there, in those days, an out-pouring of soul in religious
charities — aye, or even in such pilgrim gatherings as Chaucer
describes — which might well atone for some grossness.
As the bloody humours of an old Irish fair were preferable to
the death-silence that has succeeded them, so the coarser com-
panionship of former times gleams, as the refraction of departed
light, on llie refined seclusion of the age we live in. But month
after month and year after year is the barrier now more firmly
set, not only between the rich and the poor, but even between
the rich and the rich of the same neighbourhood. *^ Birds of
a feather no longer flock together." State ceremony, formu-
laries, lengthened invitations and *' shams," are becoming more
iand more necessary before neighbour can meet neighbour in
friendly greeting. The gas-tarred paling of every " villa " in
" Paradise Row " shows an elevation of eighteen inches or so
superadded to its former height, lest some long-legged labourer
should stretch up and overlook the monotonous existence of the
meaningless citizen within : park walls are raised or are removed
to a greater distance irom the mansion: foot-paths are *^ turned,"
or are entirely blocked up, lest the "slovenly, unhandsome'* clown
should come " betwixt the wind and the nobility " of the owner
of the domain.
So wide does this feeling extend, that recently amidst the
bleak dells of the Exmoor Forest, amid torrents brawling through
blackened ravines, amid cloud-capped hills where the red oxen
and the red deer range almost equally wild, we observed, at the
entrance of a carriage-road leading to a newly-built solitary
residence, a notice-board inscribed with large letters intimating
that " whoever was found trespassing on the grounds would be
prosecuted!" Here, in this wilderness, where one would have
thought that the sight of the human face divine would have been
as welcome as that of a ship to Robinson Crusoe in his desert
island, here was the usual notice — " Procul-procul, este profani : "
exclusiveness is the spirit of the age we live in, even on the
mountains of Exmoor.
Thus every neighbourhood feels that the tie is broken that
bound it together for sympathy and succour. Each one is
* Ariosto.
Digitized by
Google
THE AGE WE LIVE IN. 243
compelled to rest tipon himself or upon individuals independent
each of the other. The old inn sigh — ^the Red Lion, or the
Greyhound, that was formerly looked up to as the armorial
bearing of the family that kept all the hill side and valley
together, hangs defaced before a dilapidated hostelry : the Bugle
that used to summon all the merry men for the chase, swings by
a chain as broken as the memories it would invoke : the Cross-
Keys that formerly appealed to the piety of the traveller by
assuring him that mine host was a worthy son of holy Church —
something in the manner of a grace said before meat — ^the Cross-
Keys can open the wayfarer's heart no longer: these fond
memorials that graced the taverns of ancient days are all
eclipsed by inn signs and nomenclatures more consonant to
the age we live in. Messrs. Mivart or Morley think their
own names as attractive over hotel doors as the Swan with Two
Necks or Belle Savage; while, throughout the land, ^^ Railway
Hotels,** in all the pomp of white bricks and Vauxhall Gothic,
outstare the faded glories of the houses of entertainment of for-
mer times.
And let us observe in passing how curiously the armorial
bearings, given by the Herald^s College in these latter years, tally
with the spirit of the age we live in. " King, law, and people**
are invoked in the motto of some go-a-head peer, ^' By iron
not by the sword,** exclaims the modem baronet, proud of
his improved morality: while the shields of all our Colonial
Bishops — who sometimes pretend to stretch their crosier over
unnumbered, independent dioceses five times more ancient than
their own faith — ^no longer show the holy cross or the emblems
of Catholic worship, but are fitly charged with the Bible, the
crown, the lion of England, or the union flag, in fiuthful com-
memoration of the power from which they issue. Verily we
have but to look at their armorial bearings to discover of what
spirit they are. It peeps out every where. It is ubiquitous :
and reminds one of the caricatures that were made at the end
of the last and the beginning of the present century, on the
minister when he put the broad arrow upon any hitherto untaxed
article.
When the tax was put upon salt, the cook was represented
opening the lid of her salt box; and while the head of the
minister popped up from under it, she^exclaimed, ^^ Dang it ! if
the fellow has*nt got into the salt box, too !*'
We have seen an empty cask standing in a fair, on which
the owner had scrawled, in chalk,
"FOR sail:"
underneath, a wag wrote
'' FOft FRIGHT AND PASSAGE INQUIRB AT THB BUNG HOLB *
Digitized by
Google
244 THE AOIB WB WV.E |N>
So we say ^^ for the origin of modern English Biishops, inquiro
at the Herald's College."
And yet amid all fiie cold selfishness and rationalism of the
multituae> there struggles a spirit mindful of the holier and
more generous impulses of former days* In the young Eng*
landersy as they were called, it assumed a political guise, and
would &in have engrafted the fruitful offshoots of Gad^olic feel-
ing upon the withered stock that Protestantism had so thoroughly
blighted. The attempt was hopeless from the beginning : vital
3ap was not there to cement the unnatural union : white waist-
coats were soon at a discount. The party is now unknown in
the House of Commons : and the principal memorials of its
existence are the restored monastery at Canterbury and the
]3y2santine church at Wilton,
Beautiful, indeed, is that noble church : but as the feeling that
raised it lacks the finishing grace of Catholicism, highly deco-
rated as is its architecture, it lacks the rich adornment of paint-
ing, gilding, and mosaic, so peculiar to the style it would repro-
duce. Those who have prayed beneath the historic domes of
St. Marc at Venice and Morreale at Palermo, or who have
stolen along the carpetted floor of St. Sophia's Mosque at Con-
stantinople, will understand how much gorgeousness of colour-
ing is required in edifices of the period represented by this
church. But it is a noble monument of the piety of its founder
and of his amiable and lovely vrife. How little we thought, as
we marked her grow up into beautiful womanhood, that her
name would be associated with one of the finest ecclesiastical
monuments in the land !
It is to be regretted that the stained glass in this and oth^
Protestant buildings should be inferior to that which renovated
art could supply. How poor is the colouring of the windows
in this church compared to that of the beautiful church of the
Jesuits in Farm Street, Berkeley Square ! How cold look the
stained windows in the new national monument, the House of
X^ords, compared to those in St. Greorge's Church, Souihwaxk I
Catholics, poor and disunited as we are, we may be proud of
our endeavours to restore mediaeval art !
And what is the whole tractarian movement in England but a
yearning after the truthfulness and the sympathies of bygone
times? The enthusiast spirit travels inquiringly through the
whole course of Protestant formularies and of German rationalism
and finds ^^it all barren," It feels vrithin itself capabilities for
more exalted, for more spiritual, for more godlike communion :
an emanation of the Deity,, it pants to draw near again to the
fountain head of love : it pants and it feels that Catholicism,
alone ean assuage its arid thirst.-—
Digitized by
Google
TBE AGS WE LIVE IN. 846
"L*onda dal mar diyisa
Bagna il valle e 1 monte.
Ya passeggiera in fiume
Va Prigionniera in fonte ;
Mormora sempre e geme
rinchd non toma al mar : —
Al mar dov' ella nacque.
Dove ricev6 gli umori,
Dove, dai lunghi errori,
Spera di riposar.
Alas, that suoh aspirations sboald eventuate in nothing more
than in artistic and sentimental taste for mediaeval art, than in
stone altars, white surplices, white waistcoats, painted sepulchres,
high Church-of-Englandism : — ^the scoff of grown up worldlings,
the puzzle of children.
''How delightful!^' a lady recently exclaimed interrupting a
conversation in a carriage on a west-of-£ngland railway into
which she had just entered: ^^how delightful it is to hear people
talk Again of die price of oats and of the May-fly, when, for
weeks, one has heard only discussions on baptismal regenera-
tion and prevenient grace 1" Here was the scoffer.
''Do you know, Fanny,'' asked a grave-looking li^le girl of
her friend in one of the gardens near the church of Mr. Bexmett :
" do you know whether your papa and mama belong to the high
or to the low church ?"
"No, dearest;" replied the other little theologian, " I don^t
know ex^tly which they belong to : but - - - stay : it must be to
the high church, because we sit in the gallery." Here was the
puzzled one.
So strong is the fancy, for we can give it no more positiye.
designation, so strong is the fancy for the knowledge oi former
days, that a newspaper has lately been established to receive
and distribute mediaeyal lore :-^under the title of "Notes and
Queries," a weekly journal puts questions and answers them
for the information of still more ignorant zealots : and as Bishop
Milner asserted that no one but a Catholic could be an antiquary^
so does every inquiry of the journalist and of his correspondents
lead him and them back towards Rome. Antiquity can lead to
nothing else. The Puseyite convert said to the Bishop who
reproached him with having "gone over to Rome," "We both
started on the same road, my Lord; but you stopped at
Geneva." Antiquarian research leads the whole way. A few
weeks ago, a correspondent of the journal we have named asked
gravely the meaning of the word tenebrae that was found, he
said, in old books in connexion with Easter. Any Catholic
child, throughout Europe would have given the information of
Digitized by
Google
246 THB AGE WE LIVE IN.
which Protestantism had blotted out the remembrance from the
mind of the scholar.
In the same paper, recently appeared an inquiry into the
origin of the word "horns" in Scriptural language, which Sir
Edmund Filmer, referring to the appearance of Moses on his
descent from the mountain — "comuta fuit facies ejus" — judi-
ciously answered by referring the inquirer to Cradock's History
of the old Testament and to Cruden's Concordance : " The
original Hebrew word," he says, "signified to shine, and the
word comuta in the 'vulgar Latin,' as Cradock quaintly calls
it, evidently means that the face of Moses had, as it were, horns
or rays of light exceedingly dazzling."
We remember an Englishman who, after attentively studying
the famous statue of Moses by Michael Angelo at Rome, in
which these rays of light are materially represented, exclaimed,
"How horrible!"
"Horrible ! wherefore ?" we asked. "Whom do you think
the statue represents ? "
" Whom ? the devil, to be sure. Look at its horns !"
If our inquirers will push their researches a little farther,
they will find that a horn worn on the side of the head is still
the most jaunty ornament of eastern women,' and a token of
prosperity — "comu ejus exaltabitur in gloria — ^his horn shall
be exalted in glory," says the Psalmist. Manners in the east
change as little as the religion of Catholics : modem English
antiquaries will best answer their doubts by following the
instructions of the oracle and by harking back to their ancient
mother.
But the rule of faith is unknown to the mind of Englishmen
in the age we live in : and anxious as they are to acquire
knowledge, that knowledge is stowed away without method,
without recollection, without harmony. Conflicting informa-
tion is equally treasured : the trae displaces not the false ; but
having no siu-e guide of faith by which to test the value or to
class the quality of each discovery brought home by science,
seldom is each put away in that compartment of the brain or
heart to which it of right should belong, but all are carried
about as poor Wordsworth carried his shirts.
Poor old Wordsworth ! never did more kindly sj'mpathy,
unalloyed by shade of jealousy or ill will, mourn over departed
greatness than has been called forth by his death. We remem-
ber the fervour with which, half a century ago, he cidtivated his
little garden in Somersetshire on Sundays, in order to oppose
what he considered our puritanical observance of the day :
when we last saw him, old, withered, and shaky, but little of
such "philosophic" zeal remained within him. Respected as
Digitized by
Google
THE AGE WE LIVE IN. 247
the builder up of great fame, when he took an active part in
life it was more often as an actor in such an anecdote as the
following : —
" Now do, my dear William," his wife had said to him, " be
less forgetftd this time. As you are going for a three days*
visit, I have put three clean shirts in your carpet bag. Promise
me that you will put on a clean one every day."
The promise was given. The bard went and returned.
" How forgetful you are, my dear William," expostulated the
same friendly monitor; ^'you have left all your three dean
shirts behind you, and you promised me that you would put
one on every day."
** So I did, my love ; I declare to you that I did," mildly
asserted the poet.
" Where are they, then ?"
" Here, here. I put them on, as I promised I would."
A clean shirt had, in truth, been added every day on the top
of the others : and he now wore all the four as untidUy and
unmethodically as our countrymen of the age we live in, devoid
of any rule of faith by which to class and methodise them,
adopt discordant theories or unproved assertions.
As the gardener who carried horae some strange plants he
had found by the side of the road, and wishing to dignify them
by a botanical name, labelled them " rodensidas," so do they
think that a lapse of three centuries makes antiquity, that
Scripture is religion (whether quoted by saint or devil), that
judicial sentences are theology, that water is baptism (how-
soever and with whatsoever intention administered), and that
a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. When Mrs.
Hudson, wishing to stock the gardens of Newby Park with
rhododendrons, desired her London agent to send her five
dozen of ^'Roderic Randoms," she was as well pleased on the
arrival of the huge packet of books as she would have been
had she received the American plants she had ordered. She
knew that her " bigotry " came from Stor and Mortimer's, her
** virtue " from Howell and James, and why should not rhodo-
dendrons come from Bohn and Bogue ? She knew how far a
little learning went with herself; and how little the great people
of the age we live in, who had flocked to her assemblies and
fawned upon her wealth, cared to investigate the quality of any
information that was presented to them.
'' I don't like that bloody head in the dish," said a picture
fancier, when purchasing a fine painting by Giogione of the
decollation of St. John Baptist : ** it will not look pleasant in
my dining room. Have it taken away and a quantity of
flowers and grapes put on it instead."
Digitized by
Google
248' THE AGE WE LIVE IN.
Was this man ignoraot of the spirit <^ the age we live in ?
Not a bit of it ! He was his own foolometer, and he rightly
judged that what suited him would not be questioned by the
bulk of his acquaintance.
Far be it from us to assert that ignorance and selfishness hold
undisputed sway over the minds of this generation. But we do
feel that the Young England party, the Tractarian party, the
members of Camden and MedisBYal Societies, the non-commis-
sioned volunteers who hang around the great Catholic party
throughout the world, we do feel that all these wage a losing
and almost a hopeless, war against the indifference to holy
things, the egotism, the worl^ness, the arid self-sufficiency,
the readiness to receive and to be satisfied with superficial and
undigested knowledge whether in questions of science, politics,
or religion, that characterises the multitude of the age we live
in. To us, it is positively refireshing when we leave the Eastern
Counties Railway, and order our brougham to drive to our quiet
chambers in the Temple, it is positively refreshing, we assert,
to read at the foot of die cards that are showered by the agents
of Moses and Son upon our knees, an intimation that ^* the
establishment is always closed from the sunset of Friday to the
sunset of Saturday .'' Faith, then, is not quite extinct ! ^^ Jus-
titia excedens terris vestigia fecit '' in the Minories ! The ^^ pure
Causasian breed'' at least, has a soul above the goose and cab-
bage for which the bulk of mankind would now desecrate not
only the Sabbath but every day in the year !
What a confused sense of religious principle was shown by
the guardians of our Poor Law Union, when, in our ex-officio
quality, we lately entered the board-room ! A middle-aged
woman stood* before the parish representatives and was being
dismissed by the chairman with these words : —
'^ Well, then, Mrs. Smith ; you are elected as schoolmistress :
but you engage that there is no chance that you will be recon-
ciled to your husband ? because we could not have him about
the house.'*
" Oh, sir, no chance whatever," she replied, curtsying as she
left the room.
^^ Mr. Chairman," we exclaimed, ^^ do we understand that the
highly moral condition on which ^is person has been elected
as schoolmistress is that she is not to be reconciled to her hus-
band?"
Laughter : as the parliamentary reporters would record.
Laughter ; but no denial of the terms.
A sanctimonious-looking man next entered the room, leading
a lively lad by the hand.
" Well, my little man ;" asked the chairman, " how do you
like sweeping chimneys."
Digitized by
Google
THE AGE WB LIVE IN. 249
** Very mnoby indeed^ sir I**
We turned us meany^hile to the Protestant rector of the parish
and inquired how it was that the boy had been apprenticed to a
dissenting preacher, as this sweep was well known to be.
" Wliy I had some scruples about it,^ he answered shily ;
^^ but the boy was an orphan ; and the other guardians could not
understand that it mattered whether the child were brought up
a dissenter or a churchman ; so I quieted my conscience by
walking out of the room while the bargain was struck.**
Were we not justified in saying that an absence of religious
principle characterised the multitude in this age we live in when
this was the conduct of their representatives ?
Let any on.e wander throtigh a modem English cemetery and
see whether he can trace any definite faith or hope in the
tombs of those buried during the age we live in. Sadly sweet
to us have always been those churchyard walks^whether amid
the tinsel sentiment, the pious hope, or the avowed infidelity of
Pere la Chaise; whether amid the grass-grown graves of a
retired and yew-sheltered English village church yard ; whether
amid the trim flower-beds into which every grave is almost con-
verted in Saxony ; or amid the piles of cumbrous masoniy and
bad taste that disfigure our metropolitan cemeteries. Sweet
and cherished are those quiet walks ; for they tell of peace and
of hope ; of happy reunions ; of recovered home ; of love sancti-
fied and exalted and renewed and plighted for ages of ages : of
all this, do grave-yards, however diiferent in their locality and
arrangement, hold out a sure and certain hope ; and more than
this, far more than this do they bring before us, in thoughts of
Him, the great, the merciful, who there shows us how, one after
the other, we are called to Himself. But yet it seems to us that,
year after year, the design of tombs in our cemeteries — in that
of Ken sal Green, for example — becomes more abased to a lower
standard of intelligence, of ftiith and of hope. Limping and
ungrammatical verses that tell of the survivor's sorrow are there,
indeed, in unmeasured profusion ; but from the formal frippery
of the tomb to Mdme. Soyer, the vrife of the cook of the Reform
Club (the most revolting part about which is the admiration it
evidently draws from the crowds of gaping Cockneys who ever
surround it) from the frippery of this gorgeous monument to the
plain slab or the blooming flower-plot over the body of an un-
named one, no index is so generally given as might lead a
heathen to guess that the survivors had any definite religious
faith or hope or charity. How consolatory to every Christian
mind, perplexed by the disorder of conflicting religious notions
proclaimed around, how consolatory to such an one is it to come
upon the tomb of the Catholic, marked, as ever, with the sign of
Digitized by
Google
250 THE AGE WE LIVE IN.
the cross and bespeaking the prayers of the living for the dear
one who has preceded us ! Here is no striving for eifect : here
is no sentimental and undefined system of religious belief: all
is plain, simple, intelligible. We will defy any Catholic to walk
in the company of Protestants through one of tliese Metropolitan
cemeteries and not feel proud of the effect produced by the
grave-stones of his co-religionists : we will defy any Protestant
to walk in Catholic company through the same cemetery and
not to feel ashamed of the tombs of his fellow-Protestants of
the age we live in.
We observed one curious change wrought, we presume, by
fEu^hion, in the decoration of many graves : whereas, in old
churchyards, almost all the headstones used to be adorned
by little chubby heads of cherubims nestling between two bushy,
little wings, these are now altogether disused or are replaced by
the figure o£ a dove (we hope not intended to represent the
Holy Spirit) hanging firom the top of the monument and holding
in its bill a written scroll. So numerous are those little marble
angels in old country churchyards that when a boor, walking at
nightfall past his parish church with a loaded gun which went
off by accident and shot an owl just circling from its ivy-
darkened nest, saw the white bird of night fall fluttering at his
feet, the terror and conscience-stricken countryman exclaimed,
" Oh Loord, oh Loord, I ha shotten a angel !"
Were such an accident to happen in the Kensal Green
cemetery with similar fatal results, a badeau^ accustomed to the
new style of ornament, would probably cry out, " Oh Lord, oh
Lord, I have shot a carrier pigeon, letter and all ! ''
We are aware that all these observations run counter to the
spirit of the age ; that we do but expose our want of taste, our
antiquarian prejudipes, our ignorance of the charms of modem
society. We fancy that we hear some friendly critic interrupt
us, as the lecturer was interrupted at the Royal Institution in
Albemarle Street. There, amid crowds of musty old bachelors
and shrivelled old maids, two earnest, truthful, and fair faces
listen to Professor Farraday or Brand as they pour forth know-
ledge on all subjects, from the tail of comet to that of serpent.
We never saw the old maidenhood and old bachelordom of the
place more interested and animated than after a lecture on the
circulation of blood in reptiles and the pulsations of a serpent's
heart. On one occasion, however, the lecturer had undertaken
to explain the principle of optics and spoke learnedly there-
anent for some while, but to the evident annoyance of a stout
yeoman, who had unaccountably been introduced into the
rather aristocratic assemblage. He wriggled on his bench —
he cleared his throat— be whispered " Sir " several times
Digitized by
Google
THE AGE VfB LIVB IN. 251
inaudibly : at length, with a desperate effort, he exclaimed to
the lecturer on optics, " Excuse me, Sir, but you are wrong.
You ought to know that in hop countries, we do not call them
hop sticksy but hop poles.^*
So we are prepared to be told that we are wrong : that we
are benighted in the dark ages ; that we do not understand nor
properly appreciate the spirit of the age we live in : but let
us not also be told that in the Catholic world, the heart of the
public is equally dormant ; that it beats no more with ennobling
impulses, but is paralized by- the same dull egotistic, indifferent,
unbelieving, false, trifling spirit that we deplore in this country.
Not so, indeed ; thanks be toour superintending Providence, it is
not so. Mightier worldly interests may be there at work ; hein^
ous crimes may be there committed ; men and nations may there
forget, for a while, every instinct of humanity : but the true faith
that has been implanted in the heart of each one, reasserts its
sway, recalls the degraded sinner, and again melts and human-
izes him. How magnificently was this instanced when two years
ago in the streets of Paris, a city was in arms against itself; when
parent and child madly fought : when woman forgot her mission
of mercy and led on bands of savages more savage than any who
ever danced round the victim writhing at the stake in an
American forest. In the height of the murderous broil, Catho-
licism reasserted its sway : the Archbishop of Paris came forth
its preacher : he fell, as often fall the missionaries of our Lord.
But the strife was stilled: the religious heart of the people was
touched : piety, dormant and stifled by bad passions, was
reawakened, and showed that, over Catholic sinners, it was warm
and strong and still divinely influential, even in this age we live in.
And what can be a finer example of this enduring influence
of Catholicism than has lately been given in Rome ? An army
long inured to the hardships and inflictions of the African war ;
an army in which, one might have thought, every feeling of reli-
gion, every softest impulse of humanity to have been long since
extinguished, kneels, at first as a mere matter of militaiy discip-
line, at the feet of the restored Pontiff. He raises his venerable
hands ; as the vicar of the Lord, he calls down every blessing
upon the heads of the hardened soldiers. The first, the greatest
of all blessings, a religious spirit, is forthwith rained down upon
them. They feel, they acknowledge, they rejoice in its holy
influence. No sentiment of worldly shame, of utilitarian egotism
withholds them. Officers and men alike confess the divine spell :
and tears of heartfelt piety course down those bronzed and
bearded visages and prove how the grace of God, truly vouch-
safed in youth through His appointed channels, may linger
undying and reappear triiunphant in Catholic hearts — even in
the age we live in.
Digitized by
Google
S52
REGISTER
NEW PUBLICATIONS, CORRESPONDENCE. AND EVENTS.
The Editor of tht Catholic Magazikh ahd Rbotbtbh dedres that his Cones-
pondents and Contributors may alone be held responsible for the opinions and
sentiments that each may express. But he invites, our Venerable Clergy and all
Catholics to send him ixuformation on all matters of religious interest in their
sereral neighbourhoods.
NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.
The Anglican Cfhurch the Creature and SUwe of the States beiD^ a refutation
of certain Puseyite claims advanced on behalf of the EstabUshed Chnrch 9
in a series of lectures delivered before the Academy of the Catholic Reli-
gion. By the Rev. P. Cooper, of the Church of the Conception, Dublin ;
Prebendaury, &c. Second Edition. 1 VoL 8vo, pp. 244. Dolman.
That a second edition of these lectures, delivered some years since in
Dublin, should have been called for is at once a proof of their merit and of
the enduring interest of the subject. That the Established Church U the
creature and slave of the State few, we presume, amongst its most ardent
supporters, would now deny. The high church party deplore it: the
followers of low church principles glory in it. The recent decisions in the
Gorham case prove the fact ; and it is received with sorrow or with triumph
by all.
These lectures, however, necessarily enter into the history of the estab-
lishment and of the Reformation in England to some degree, and may be
more generally useful than as mere controversial disquisitions. They are
written in temperate and forcible language ; and may be of service to such
as still honestly linger in the ranks of Pusejrism.
Submissum to the Catholic Church. By A. S. Hanmer, 6.A , late of St.*
John's College, Cambridge, and Curate of Tidcome Portion. 1 vol. 18mo,
pp. 189. Burns and Lambert. 1850.
These observations are addressed to the inhabitants of the. parish a(
Tiverton, who were formerly subject to the spiritual teaching of Mr. Hanmer,
The purport of the book is to explain to them the cause of the severance in
the connexion between them, brought about by the author's happy conver-
sion to the Catholic faith. The account is conveved in plain, affectionate
language, and clearly explains those points which tne author found to have
most weight in his own conversion. To us who have had the happiness to
be bom within the pale of the Church, it is most curious to observe how
different minds amongst our separated brethren affect different arguments :
how some find difficulties where, to others, all was clear; how some give
way at once, where others most stoutly contest every inch of ground. True
it is, that the same arguments cannot have weight with all : and therefore
are we glad to see every convert put forth and explain the Une of controversy
which he has found most effective in his own case. We recommend thia
book to all whose minds are racked and harassed by doubt ; and especiaUy
we recommend to them the feeling appeal with which the author concludes
his obser\'ations and urges them not to delay their conversion ''until a more
convenient opportunity !*'
Digitized by
Google
NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 253
Compitum j or the Meeting of the Ways at the Catholic Church, The fourth
Book. 1 Vol. ISmo, pp. 390. Dolman. 1850.
There is no falling off in this fourth volume o*f Mr. Dighy^s work of lore.
The same affectionate feeling for all that is and was Catholic ; the same deep
research after aU that may record the influences of the Catholic faith on the
hearts of men, animates and enriches this Book as those that have already
appeared. We recommend the chapter on the Road of Kings to the con-
sideration of those who in these latter dajs would learn what kings used to
he, and what used to be considered then: duties. But the whole volume
will delight and instruct.
The Metropolitan Catholic Public Library, for Clerical and Town and
Country Circulation, Capital i^ 10,000, in Shares of £5.
The Prospectus of this very valuable undertaking appeared in our April
Number : and we may not delay to call to it that attention to which it is
justly entitled. That the establishment of such a library would be a real
blessing to almost every priest and every Catholic layman in the countrv cannot
be doubted by those who know the difficulty we experience in obtaining
Catholic publications. General circulating libraries will not take them in :
they are not called for by the majmity of their readers. And the Catholic
is thus debarred from those facilities for obtaining information or amusement
which are grafted into the habits of life of almost every other member of
the community.
The association of which the prospectus is before us, proposes to remedy
this deficiency on terms so moderate as to deserve, we wish we could say, to
secure the support of thousands. The undertaking is really of importance
to the faith, to the well-being, to the comfort, aye, and to the respectability
of thousands amongst us who cannot hope, by any other means, to obtain
those literary resources which are necessary to men in their situation. We
sincerely trust that it may be established and maintained with spirit.
Sich Calls: from the Diary of a Missionary Priest, (mostly republished
from " Dolman's Magazine.") By the Rev. E. Price, M.A. I vol. 8vo,
pp. 350. Dolman. 1850.
This elegant volume is a republication of papers that delighted all the
readers of the periodical in which they appeared, and which are so fresh in
the memory of very many of our readers, that we scarcely feel ourselves
called upon to notice it otherwise than by announcing its appearance. The
style of writing is so truthful, so feeling, so nervous, so, pious ; — the incidents
recorded are so touching, so real, that we know no work that better explains
the wants, the suffering, and the long endurance of our Catholic poor, and
the zeal and self-denial and untiring labour of the Catholic missionary in
England. We may regret, indeed, that the wretched situation of some of
the poor creatures with whom duty brings him in contact should be too
plainly described (as in the case of " The Magdalen," for example) : we may
think there are things which should not be " so much as mentioned amongst '
those who will read this volume : but our opinions may be peculiar to our-
selves, and we hail the appearance of the book as that of a standing work
that ought to find a place in every Catholic house, whence it may go into
Protestant hands and, in the most interesting manner, demonstrate the work-
ings of our holy faith.
Having thus borne testimony to the high literary and religious merit of
the volume, we feel it a sacred duty to express our hope that it is the last of
the kind that will ever be written or published. We Catholics know hoinf
VOL. II. T
Digitized by
Google
254 NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.
sacred are the revelatioafl made bj the penitent to his confecsor : wer
Catholics know that the reverend author could not. and has not in reality
recorded any thin^ that he learned through the trust reposed in his sacred
ministry: but Protestants may not be so easily persuaded oiP the fact What
one priest has done, every priest may do ; and were all to write an account
of their •*Sick Calls," what Protestant would believe that the "ever-
impenetrable veil,** in which words Mr. Price rightly turns from the secrets
of the confessional, was not sometimes lifted, and that mutato nomine, &c.,
under a different name, its confidences were not sometimes revealed ? Even
Catholics may think that the publication of incidents in the liv«s of their
penitents, learnt through the ministry of the priest* must draw back again
his mind to that which, once heard, he is bound to dismiss for ever from his
memory. Enough. Much as we admire the work; we hope that it will
stand alone — ^that it will be the first and the last of its series.
A Brief Sketch of the Life of Dr. Giacinto Achilli, Second edition. Dublin :
Hardy & Sons. 1850.
This little book was presented us a few days since, with a slight hope on
the part of the donor that it might be instrumental in leading us into the
bosom of the Christian Church, and making us partakers of the everlasting
promises of Jesus Christ, held out to every true believer in His Gospel.
We accepted the pamphlet with real pleasure, inasmuch as we were prompted
by a pardonable curiosity in desiring to know what reasons any sensible (?)
man could give for leaving the Church of God for a sect who teaches no
DEFTNiTB doctriue, and who consequently does not offer even a '* plank for
shivering sinners to stand on," previous to taking their final leap into the
ocean, the boundless ocean of eternity. But, alas ! we were doomed to dis-
appointment; for, after perusing and reperusing this ''Brief Sketch of the
lAfe of Dr. Giacinto Achilli,^' we can find no valid reason why Dr. A. took
this important step. * We must acknowledge, in all candour, that we were
highly amused at the Rev. Dr.'s simplicity, shall we say " craft,"(?) in stating
at some length, that at a meeting of the Ciroolo PopoUure, three evenings
since, (query, was it April FooVs Day? as his letter is dated April 3, 1849),
the assodation recognized by a resolution the perpetual headship and
authority over itself of our Blessed Lord. " This expression of feeling will be
the better understood, when it is remembered that it is usual in Roman
Catholic countries to place associations, cities, public offices, &c., under the
special protection of the Virgin Mary*' or of one of the saints. The present
rope, in this manner, publicly invoked the patronage of the Virgin Mary for
the city of Rome during the late troubles. This act of the Circolo Popolare
has an important religious as well as anti-papal significance. The speeches
on that occasion were touching : every one observed that religion is, so to
speak, the soul of everything ; that we must be true Christians if we would
secure liberty ; that liberty being a gift of God, He will not grant it unless
ve ask first in prayer, and through the intercession of Jesus Christ. But
to be iJTDod Christians, observed one of them, we must lay aside errors
and superstitions. We have been sufficiently degraded by the teaching of
our priesta, and it is through their fault that we have confused things divine
and human, truth and ftdsehood. To be faithful to God and believers in his
Christ, we must therefore purify our hearts. Some one else said, that true
Christianity is the religion of freemen, and that which has till now rendered
us slaves is not Christianity but the Papacy ; that the Pope has wickedly,
called himself the Vicar of Christ, while he has been the first to transgress
the precepts of the Gospel; that we must not believe the priests when they
^ach us things which are not found in the Gospel of Christ And they
Digitized by
Google
NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 255
concluded, in short, that we must return to the faith of our forefathers, when
religion was pure, and the Christian life was holy. Imagine how much I
enjoyed these observations, and how I made my comments and additions to
all that was said." Catholic reader, could you, by any force of
imagination, have believed that any man in the full enjoyment of sanity, and
with a pjerfect knowledge of the awful blasphemies, and the want of all
religion in Garibaldi, Mazsini, and their crew, could hwe " enjoyed these
observations, and made his comments and additions thereon" — Do not Dr.
Achilli, Sir C. Eardley, Mr. Turner, and others, who are taking advantage
of the gullibility of John Bull, well know that such has been the language
of every Revolutionist sinee 1793 ? Do they recall to mind the language of
Robespierre, when the Guillotine was doing its foul work ? Nay, do they
recollect the language in England during the civil war that raged in the days
of Charles Stuart, when anarchy and irreligion stalked through this unfor-
tunate island? But what need of citing the example of Robespierre and
Oliver Cromwell, and their diabolical partizans ? What need of this, when
the blasphemous and maddened language of d' Alton Shee, Eugene Sue,
Louis Blanc, Cabet, Mazzini, Garibaldi, are still ringing in our ears? — when
the awful carnage of June '48 at Paris, and the yet more melancholy state of
Rome, until rescued by the armies of that nation who has bver been, and
ever will be, notwithstanding the hellish exertions of some of her citizens,
the " ELDEST DAUGHTER OF THE CHURCH CATHOLIC.''
Will Dr. Achilli kindly explain to our bewildered imagination such phrases
as " true Christians f" A Christian is one that believes in the Divinity of
Jesus Christ and the authority of His Churchy founded by and in His
Precious Blood-Shedding on the Cross on Mount Calvary ; but can that man
be a *' true Christian " who drinks the health of Jesus Christ (our blood
thrills with awe as we pen such blasphemy) in company with Julian the
Apostate and Nero ? Is this the sign of a " true Christian ?" and was such
" the faith of our forefathers^ when religion was pure and the Christian life
was holy ? " Verily if such be the case we know not the meaning of the
term " Christian,** Where, we inquire, was the shamefacedness of Dr. Achilli
when he penned these lines. May we be allowed for one moment to imagine
that " true Christianity," according to the notions of the Exeter Hall gentle-
men, consist^si in barefaced lying, slander, and blasphemy!!! Such is the
Trinity of the Exeter Hall religion. Were we to attempt to expose the tithe
of the falsehood which this little pamphlet (composed of 70 pages) contains,
our limits of a brief notice would soon be passed ; and, moreover, we would
run a serious risk of tiring our readers. However, thank God, Dr. A chilli's
recent exposure at Belfast has done more to show his real character than any
notice from a Catholic. But why is not the Rev. Doctor like others of his
brother apostate priests ? why does he not confess that he left the Church of
God because he aesired to satisfy his carnal lusts ? We are acquainted with
an apostate priest who himself acknowledged to us, that if he could have
obtained a dispensation from the vow of celibacy, he would never have left
the Church of Rome, as he believed her to be of divine origin, and that was
more than he could say of either of the Protestant churches.
A Converted Anglican Minister.
T 2
Digitized by CjOOQ IC
256 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
CORRESPONDENCE.
The Conversion of England.
To the Editor of the " Catholic Magazine and Register,**
Jesu Christi Passio.
Dear Sir. — In my last letter, I promised to suggest an answer to the
question, " WiU England be Catholic again ?" and I begged your good
readers to examine beforehand the xxxvii. chapter of EzekieT, where, in fact,
my answer is to be found. The prophet there speaks of a striking vision
which he had seen, of a plain covered with dry bones. The spirit of God
asks him, '^ Son of Man dost thou think these bones shall live ?" He
answers, ^ O Lord God thou knowest." This answer seems to be pleasing
to God, and to merit for the prophet the wondrous sight which follows ;
when, being commanded to speak to the bones, he perceives a noise and
commotion among them ; the bones come together each one to its joint :
then sinews and flesh and skin cover them, and nothing is wanting to them,
save the breath of life : but this they are to receive. The prophet is com-
manded to say to the spirit, " Come spirit from the four winds, and blow
upon these slain, and let them live again. On which " they stood upon
their feet, an exceeding great army." It is now about six or seven years
since I have been constantly applying this passage of the prophet to the case
of England. In the mouth of Ezekiel, the dry scattered bones represented
the house of Israel in their dispersion, when they were saying, " Our bones
are dried up, and our hope is lost, and we are cue off." (ver. 11.) God
would have them understand that their case, though it might seem desperate,
was not so indeed ; and, in fact, he promises their future rerurn to their own
land in peace. So I say the case of England is not desperate. Supposing
that England, which once has lived in the light of faith, were now so desti-
tute of all life and grace as to be iustly represented by these bones, which
once had lived, but were now dead and exceeding dry, what would yet be
the answer to be given to the question. Shall England live again ? I fly
from, I denounce as wrong, all such answers as we frequently hear given :
It is impossible ; it will never be, or it can only be a partial not a national
return, or, it may be, but it cannot be in our time ; it must take at least a
hundred years, and the like. If the prophet had made such an answer as
this to the question proposed to him, he would probably not have seen the
wonders he did, or he might have seen them to his own confusion ; and
surely those who answer thus concerning England do not deserve to see
the great work accomplished, or at least if they do see it, they deserve not
to rejoice in it ; perhaps they may deserve themselves to lose the faith, while
their brethren whom they now condemn as hopeless shall enjoy it ; accord-
ing to what happened t« the unbelieving Lord, who would not credit the
promise of Eliseus, that in one day God would turn into plenty the famine
of Samaria, (2 Kings, vii.) to whom that prophet said, " Thou shalt see it
with thy eyes, but shalt not eat thereof." I say, then, I denounce, as wrong,
all such answers as the above, and I embrace and adopt that of Ezekiel, and
say to our Lord, " Oh liord God, thou knowest ; or I join with Mordachai,
and say, " O Lord, Lord, Almighty King, all things are in thy power, and
there is none that can resist thy will if thou determine to save England."
(See Esther xiii. 9.) As far as we now are concerned, it depends not on our
numbers, on our wealth, on our learning, nor on anything that we can do ;
excepting this alone. Can we, few or many, rich or poor, wise or foolish, move
Almighty God to convert our country ? I do not say, nor have I now said,
that we can be absolutely sure of domg this : but I have said, and say still,
that we ought immediately, unanimously with single engrossing resolution.
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 257
to adopt the means in our power thus to move God^ and to persevere in this
course, till we succeed, or till we die in the pursuit. And acting on this
principle, though most weakly, most faintly and unworthily, yet with some
perseverance, in spite of much discouragement which I meet with now, and
have met at every step, I have heen and still am begging the prayers of the
good throughout the world for Elngland, and have entreated others to join
me in doing this, as we are assured that united prayer is all powerful. Some
few have assisted nobly, and blessed be their names ; the far greater part
have, as far as I know, done nothing, and many good people have objected
and opposed. " Blessed likewise be they." This I say from the bottom of
my heart, for they have encouraged me as well as the others who have
favoured me: for I have remembered such ^ords as these : — " Woe be to
you when all men speak well of you," and I have observed how the commence-
ment of all good works in the Church of God have uniformly been marked
by the opposition of good men, while, generally speaking, some few only
have approved of them, till, by humiliation and contradiction, God has cor-
rected and improved the plan of the proposed work itself, as weU as the
proposer of it ; and thus I trust may it happen in this case. I would wil-
lingly proceed to notice some particular passages in this interesting vision*
of Ezekiel, which appear to me to correspond especially with what we have
seen and now see going on in England, and which furnish me with new
encouragement each time I return to them, but I ^vill postpone these remarks
to a future occasion, and now thanking you again for your kind admission
of my letters, I conclude with repeating my petition for at least one Hail
Mary every day for the conversion of England, from every Catholic man,
woman, and child iti England and Ireland, and for help, as fkr as each may
be able to afford it, for making this devotion general throughout the world.
I am, dear Sir, your faithful humble Servant in Jesus Christ,
Ignatius of St. Paul, Passionist^
St. Michael* 8 Retreat, Aston Stone, May U, 1850.
On the Title Very Reverend.
To the Editor of the '* Catholic Magazine and RegitterJ'
Sib. — I by no means agree with your remark on my letter that appeared
in the "Magazine," for March last, which illness prevented me seeing.
"Very Reverend" may be as you state the translation of "Reverendisstmo ;*'
but so is Right Reverend ; and if we are to regulate our English titles by
Latin or Italian appellations, we may as well call these persons Right Reve-
rend at once. This remark would hold good, even on the supposition that all the
parties styling themselves Very Reverend in this country would rightfully
assume the title of Reverendissimo in Italy. But such is not the fact. A
glance at the Directory will show you, that there are many persons, besides
what are known as Prelaii among Italians, that have usurped this distinctive
appellation. ' Your obedient Servant,
Sacerdos.
To the Editor qf the " Catholic Magazine and Register,*'
Sir. — A Catholic chapel at Maidstone would be most desirable and do
much good, as it is a great military depot — a country town — and in such a
beautiful part of the country, that many families would be tempted to make
it their residence were there a chapel of some kmd or other. The following
fact proves how much one is wanted. — A few summer's ago, on the first
Sunday after a certain regiment had arrived at Maidstone, an order was
given at Church parade for the Catholics to fall out of the ranks, which they
Digitized by
Google
258 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
did, to the number of twelve or fifteeen ; — the rest of the repfiment marched
to church. On the same order being given on the following Sunday, very
nearly the whole of the regiment fell out, much to the surprise of the com-
manding officer, who, perceiving their object, immediately ordered them to
march to the Catholic Chapel at Chatham ! The distance there and back
made a heavy day's march on a hot summer's day. The consequence was,
that on the third Sunday not a man left his place — all went to the church
and continued to do so, as long as the regiment remained at Maidstone.
Conversion of England.
To the EdUor qf the " Catholic Magazine and Register,'^
Sir. — I wrote you a few hurried lines yesterday, in the faint hope that I
should perchance be in time to inform your Anglican readets of F. Newman's
intention to preach on the " Present Difficulties of Anglicanism,'* during the
sweet month of Mary. In that note I briefly referred to the zeal of the Marina
de Escobar for the reconciliation of this unhappy Island to the Holy Church,
and now would venture to solicit a place for a rather lengthened extract
from *' Compitum," which may not prove uninteresting to your readers.
" In the year 1614, while I lay sick in bed, I had a vision of our infant
Lord and St. Joseph, and our Lord charged me to pray to God for the
kingdoms of England and of France. In September, 1618, God inspired
me with such a desire for the conversion of infidels, that my heart seemed
to break. She sought this from God earnestly, and the Lord said to me
that I should demand from Him His justice, that He might punish them ;
but I replied, ' No, O Lord, thy majesty wiU spare and correct and lead
them to thy Church.' Especially I had in view the infidels of Japan and
China, and the heretics of France and Germany ; and this was the frequent
subject of my prayer. One day tl^e Lord called to me, and asked if I were
willing to accompany Him. 'Yes, Lord,' I replied. Then I felt as if
wonderfully transported to a place whence I could see the whole world,
and He said, ' Lo ! see there France, England, Turkey, and the other parts
of the earth destitute of faith. Say now, which of these provinces do you
wish that I should convert to the faith?' I replied, 'I wish that all should
know and love thee.' But the answer was, 'This is not accordant with
my justice : say, which of them do you prefer?' Then, though France was
immediately under my eyes, I nev^heless prayed for England, and said,
* O Lord, England.' The Lord replied, 'This region is not disposed to con-
version, distressing to me the> great wickedness of the reigning kings.
Notwithstanding, the Lord said that what I asked would be granted in a
future time ; not in this age, but hereafter. I replied, *Thy Majesty always
sa^s that things are to be done which I am not to see,' alluding to some-
thmg else that was predicted to me ; but the Lord said to me that so it
Was expedient that I should not see certain things, though I should see
others, and that thus it would be with England, which in future ages would
be converted, not expressing any certain time, but that it was not to happen
during the life of the king now reigning."
The love of Marina for the inhabitants of the British islands extended to
the heretics themselves, whose conversion she ardently sought, though the
first and largest portion of what she termed "her spiritual alms" was
carried by her to the English and Irish Catholics, while the residue only
was distributed among the captives in Africa, for she considered that the
persecution sufPered in London was more dreadful than that in Algiers,
where the captives only suffered in their bodies, while in England the souls
as well as bodies were oppressed. Though all nations of the world were
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 259
objects of Iier solicitude, yet abore aQ she desired to be an advocate with
God for the English and Irish Catholics, whom alone she called always her
SODS and protected with the tenderness of a mother.
" In one rlsion I saw a multitude of men and women coming to me and
demanding alms and bread; and when I turned to the Lord apd besought
Him to enal^e me to relieve them. He replied* that 1 had the key of Hia
marcies and might dispense them. All these persons were English and
Irish Catholics, amongst whom came some heretics, whose guardian angels
asked for them also, but to whom I replied, that the bread of sons should
not be cast t» dogs, when they answered, that the dogs eat of the crumbs
from the table. Then I was led in spirit to the islands of Ireland and
England, where the Catholics seemed to say, weeping, 'Our mother and
refuge, leave us not ; stay with us.** I consoled them as far ns I could,
animating them to bear patiently their aMctions. ' My sons,' I said, 'if I
could divide myself and remain with you I would do it, but since that ia
impossible, I will forget none of you before God. On Sunday the last of
February 1627, 1 again sought,' she said, *from the Divine Mtgesty alms
for my poor sons, for so I call the faithful captives in Mauritania or the
Catholics in England, who, though not captives, suffer dreadfii] vexations
from that wicked brutal kin^, enduring an inscrutable persecutioaand afflic-
tion; and with this intention I found myself frequently in these regions,
consoling these men so afflieted, and animating them as far as I could. On
this occasion, Grod having supplied me with means for their relief, I found
myself in England, at the gate of a certain closed house, where many
anxious and afflicted Catholics had met, about to deliberate as to the
manner of escaping from the hard vexation of this wicked king, and they
said, 'Shall we leave our houses and our properties, and pass, if we can, to
Catholic countries?' But there occurred to them grievous difficulties, on
account af their wives and children and others. While thus consulting two
of the angels that accompanied me knocked at the door^ those within
answered, evincing a certain mournful perturbation, not knowing who
knocked ; but the angels speaking wiih great chaKity and afiability, obtained
that the door should be opened; we all entered, and the house before
obscure became suddenly inflamed with a great splendour, and those
Catholics were filled with great spiritual joy, consolation, magnaminity, and
fortitude, so that they could hardly recognise themselves. Now they
wished to suffer for the love of their Lord Jesus Christ, and to be cruci-
fied with Him by that impious king and sacrilegious heretic. Such was
the effect of the alms that we had brought with us from the celestial ban-
quet. There was moreover added to them a new gift of the love of God
and an application of the precious blood of Jesus Christ."* (Digby's
" Compitum," vol. 3, p. 57-69) Your obedient Servant,
I. K. B.
ECCLESIASTICAL INTELUGENCE.
It is a curious fact that the Lectures giveq by Father Newman at the
Oratory, have been most numerously attended by Protestant clergymen,
disguised by black stocks, and otherwise dressed as laymen.
The New Catholic Primate of Ireland. — ^The Lords Commissioners
of her Majesty*s Treasury hare caused Mr. Hayter, one of their lordships'
secretaries, to acquaint the proper authorities of the revenue that the Most
Rev. Archbishop Cullen, the newly-appointed Roman Catholic Primate of
Ireland, being shortly expected to arrive in this country from Rome, to take
charge of his archdiocese, it is their lordships' desire that every facility may
. be afforded in the eicamination and delivering of his baggage and effects on
Digitized by
Google
"260 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
arrival^ and that the vestments, hooks, and other articles included therein,
which are necessair in the exercise of the functions of his office, may be
freely delivered to him for that purpose, and directions have accordingly
been given by the authorities to their officers to take care that their lord-
ships' wishes in this matter be duly obeyed. — Morning Post,
Correspondence of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the
Bishop of Exeter with the Rev. William Maskell. — About two
columns and a half of the " Times" of Wednesday are devoted to a corres-
pondence between the above parties in reference to some conscientious
scruples on the part of the Rev. William Maskell, who believed it to be his
duty to resign his cure of souls.
The first letter is written by Mr. Maskell to the Archbishop, on some
points of doctrine, the answering of which would determine him whether to
remain in or to abandon the church, his perplexity having become the greater
by reason of the increased ambiguity which has lately been thrown upon our
doctrinal formularies. He says — " It seems to me that, excepting the doc-
trine of the ever-blessed Trinity, I have no doctrines and no faith to teach,
as certainly the faith and doctrines of the Church of England. I may, per-
haps, teach what I believe to be true ; but, as it seems, it is quite open
to me, if I thought it to be right, and that I should be no less justified,
to teach the opposite.
*'I venture, therefore, to ask your grace, as Archbishop of the province —
not what my duty is with regard to resignation of my cure of souls, but —
what doctrines I ought to teach my people to believe? And, without enter-
ing now upon many doctrines, suffer me to name the following, by way of
^uide and rule generally : —
" Ought I to teach, and have I the authority of the Church of England to
teach, that the grace of regeneration, together with the remission of original
«in, is certainly given to infants in the sacrament of holy baptism ?
"Again, upon the same and equal authority, that justification is always
concurrent with the due reception of the sacrament of baptism ?
Or, again, that an especial gift of the Holy Ghost is, in a sacramental
manner, given to faithful recipients, in confirmation, by the laying on the
hands of the bishop ?
Or, again, that orders transmitted through the episcopate is of the essence
of the Christian church ?
Or, once more, that the words in the Ordinal, 'Whosesoever sins th o r
forgive, they are forgiven,* &c., convey to the priesthood the power of ab-
solving penitents, to be exercised in its fulness, only after particular con-
fession, as indicated in the office of Holy Communion, and the Visitation of
the Sick?
"These subjects, my lord, I consider to be intimately connected with the
foundations of religious faith, and according as they are believed, with the
daily life and practice of every Christian man."
No. 2 is a letter from the Archbishop in reply, which appears to contain
some wholesome advice and some quotations from the scriptural writings
to guide Mr. Maskell's conduct. His Grace recommends him to pause
before he takes the dangerous step which he has been meditating, and to
consult the authority on which we can alone depend — the word of God.
No. 3 is another letter, in reply to this, from Mr. Maskell, inquiring
whether he is right in concluding that he ought not to teach any of the doc-
trines spoken of in these five questions in the dogmatical terms there stated ?
No. 4 is the Archbishop's reply, in which he quotes St. Paul, who says,
" Preach the word," and concludes a short letter thus :— -"Now whether the
doctrines concerning which you inquire are contained in the word of God,
and can be proved thereby, you have the same means of discovering as my-
self, and I have no special authority to declare."
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 261
No. 5 is a coDcludinf; answer to the Archbishops in which Mr. Maskell
says — "It seems to me, as I had supposed, that I have no faith and no doc-
trines to teach on any subject — except perhaps regarding the ever-blessed
Trinity — as certainly the doctrines and the faith of the church in which I
am a minister. In other words, if there is anything which I ought to teach,
it is this, that the Church of England has no distinct doctrine except on a
single subject."
No. 6 is a letter from the Bishop of Exeter to Mr. Maskell, amongst
other things observing — " But I, at once, frankly say, that I think your main
position untenable — that every sound branch of the Catholic Church is bound
to have dogmatic teaching on the particulars stated by you." This is a long
and explanatory letter, arriving at this conclusion — ''In expressing my
opinion that it is not your dutjr to resign your charge, I necessarily imply
that I think it your duty to retain it."
No. 7 is a brief letter firom Mr. Maskell to the Bishop of Exeter, asking
" In what sense are we to understand that the Church of England at the
present time condemns as heresy the denial of the unconditional efficacy of
baptism in the case of all infants ?"
No. 8 is the Bishop's reply. It runs thus: — "Though I decline discuss*
ing with you any further particulars, yet I hesitate not to say, in answer to
your question proposed in your letter of yesterday, that I ' understand that
the Church of England, at the present time,' imphcitly 'condemns as heresy
the denial of the unconditional efficacy of baptism in the case of all infants'
duly baptised, by holding that doctrine in her articles and homilies, by
teaching it in her catechism, the acceptance of which is a precedent condition
of communion, and by basing on it all her offices of baptism, as well as
recognising it in other parts of the Book of Commtm Prayer, especially in
the office of confirmation." — Gorhamite Paper,
Mr. Maskell has taken leave of absence for three months from his parish.
Thb Bishop of London upon Ecclesiastical Courts of Appeal.
— To the Edit«)r of the Thnes. — Sir, — I have been authorized by the Lord
Bishop of London to request that you will publish the enclosed letter, which
his Lordship has written to me, upon the present condition of ecclesiastical
matters. — I remain. Sir, your faithful and obedient servant,
A. J. B. HOPE.
1, Connaught-place, April 29.
"London-house, March 11.
** My dear Mr. Hope, — My knowledge of your devoted and consistent
attachment to the Church of your baptism, and the assurance which you have
given me of your willingness to be guided by my counsels at the present crisis,
seem to impose upon me the duty of repeating in a more connected form,
and with some additional remarks, the considerations which I suggested to
you in conversation on Saturday last.
*' You then stated to me how greatly you were distressed at the recent
judgment of the Judicial Committee of Privy Council in Mr. Gorham's case,
and you expressed your apprehension that some excellent men might be
driven bv that decision to quit, if not the communion of our Church, yet the
offices which they hold in it.
" I remarked, in answer to your statement, that I could readily understand
the uneasiness which you, in* common with many others, felt at the position
in which the Church appeared to be placed by that judgment, hut that I
thought it to be your plain and unmistakable duty not to desert the Church
at such a moment, when she was most in need of your support and assistance,
but to remain firm in your allegiance to her, and to use your best endeavours
to remove existing anomalies and defects. This appears to me veiy clearly
to be the line of conduct which you ought to pursue. If a vessel in which
Digitized by
Google
262 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
you were embarked should spring a leak, you would surely do your best to
stop the leak before you thought of abandoning the ship and leaving it to
the mercy of the winds and waves.
'' I would desire you to consider in what respect the recent judgment has
so altered the character of our Church as to justify any of her members in
severing their connexion with her. That judgment may be erroneous, may
be a wrong interpretation of the Church's mind ; but it is the interpretation
adopted by a few fallible men, not by any body authorized by the Church to
settle any point of doctrine ; nor can it have the effect of changing any of
the 'Church's doctrines. That of baptismal regeneration stands in her
Articles and Liturgy as it did before. That is not denied, nor even questioned,
by the judgment, the purport of which is that to those who admit the
Church's doctrine of baptismal grace a greater latitude of explanation is
permitted than you or I think right. But this, after all, is only the opinion
of a court of law, not the decision of the Church itself in convocation. I
hold that until the Church's Articles and formularies are altered by the
authority of Convocation, or of some synod equivalent to Convocation, her
character as a teacher of truth remains unchanged.
" I cannot regard any sentence of an Ecclesiastical Court as finally settling
a question of doctrine : that can only be done by a synod ical decree ; and
even then judges mav err in their interpretation of that decree, and yet the
decree itself will hold good, and in another appeal respecting the very same
point of doctrine another Court might give a different judgment. I think,
therefore, that nothing short of a formal act of the Church itself repudiating
what it has hitherto asserted as truth can warrant a man in quitting her
communion. *
"What we really want is a court of appeal so constituted that the mem-
bers of our Church can place reasonable confidence in its decisions; but it
must still be bom in mind that any such court will, be liable to errors in
judgment, and that it belongs to the office of a judge not to make laws, but
to expound them to the best of his ability. .
** Again, then, I say that when the Convocation shall by a solemn act re-
ject the doctrine of baptismal regeneration, it will be time enough to think
of quitting the Church's pale ; but till that shall happen (which heaven fore-
fend) to leave her would be an act of schism.
" I will add one other obsen^ation. Every member of our Church who is
not seeking a pretext for quitting her communion must desire to remove
whatever blemishes and imperfections there may be in her constitution. But
the Way to do this is not to abandon her, and so to render amendment less
practicable and probable by weakening her resources and diminishing the
number of her true friends, but to abide firmly by her, to be 'watchful
and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die.'
*' You are at liberty to show this letter to any person who is interested in
this most important question. Believe me, my dear Mr. Hope, with the
truest regard and esteem, yours most faithfully,
« A. J. Beresford Hope, Esq., M.P. C. J. London."
The Bishop of Worcbstbr and the Gorham Case. — ^The follow-
ing letter luis been addressed by the Bishop of Worcester to the Honour-
able and Rev. G. Yorke (brother of the Earl of Hardwicke) : —
" 24, Grosvenor-place, May 1, 1850.
*' My dear Yorke, — I am sorry to hear from you that an attempt is now
'making to agitate the public mind at Birmingham upon the late judgment
of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and I therefore trouble you
with the following observations as to the reasons which induces me to think
that there is no ground for such agitation.
" By that judgment no point of doctrine was Secided^ or even called in
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 263
qaestion. Nothing* more was determined than that the variance on the part
of Mr. Gorham from the articles and formalaries of our Liturgy, if any, was
not such as to justify the Bishop of Exeter in refusinf^ to institute him to a
benefice to which he had been presented by the Crown ; and, in justification
of such a determination, it was proved that opinions similai to those pro-
fessed by Mr. Gorham had been held by our early reformers, as well as by
Usher, Uarleton, Pearson, and other eminent divines, who had, nevertheless,
been permitted to retain their preferments.
" When it is notorious that upon this abstruse subject of baptismal regen*
eration the church is now divided into two opposite parties, would it not, I
would ask, have been more discreet to have allowed the same latitude, as to
diiSerence of opinions, which has hitherto been permitted, to have continued,
and which would exclude neither party from the church, rather than by
atrict dogmatical definitions to drive one or the other of them into schism ?
By the judgment in the Gorham case no one's freedom of opinion was in any
degree fettered. Those who believed that regeneration invariably accom-
panied baptism, as well as those who conceived that a prevenient act of grace
was necessary in the case of infants for its fit reception, might still have per^
formed their Saviour's work in their several spheres of usefulness, although
they might not exactly concur in opinion upon an avowedly difficult subject.
" On these grounds I regret much that it has been thought necessary to
create such an agitation upon this subject, not only in my diocese, but in, I
believe, nearly every diocese in the kingdom. Since however, this has been •
done, it becomes certainly the duty of those who have been placed in
authority to aUay it as far as they can. With this view the bishops have
already held three meetings, which have been very numerously attended ;
and they are to meet again on Monday next, when probably some final
result may be determined ; but aU their exertions will be in vain unless the
clergy themselves can be persuaded to look upon those of their brethren
who may eotertein different views from themselves upon certain abstruse
points of doctrine with the spirit of reconciliation and forbearance.'^
" I am, my dear Yorke, yours affectionately.
" (Signed) " H . WORCESTER."
CONVERSIONS.
Sir. — I have been informed of the reception of Miss Aglionby, (cousin
of H. Aglionby, Esq., M.P. for Cockermouth,) and of an honourable M.P.
for one of the Welsh counties, the scion of a Welsh house ; the latter is only
^an on dit. Poor Mr. Maskell, although assured by the Primate of all Eng-
land (?) that the Church of England teaches no definite doctrine, still remains
behind fighting for a shadow. Truly does a better cause than that of Angli-
canism desire such a man. God grant that he may not play with grace, and
delay responding to the voice of the etbrnal one, until it be too late. —
I am. Sir, yours faithfully, A Convert,
Feast Sue Katherine, F., 1860. Formerly Curate of B.
We are glad to be able to inform our readers that the Misses Flavia and
Ellen Dayman, sisters of Mr. A. J. Dayman, late curate of Wasperton, War-
wick, have made their abjuration of Protestantism, and been admitted into
the Church.
Secessions. — Edward Purbrick, Esq., undergraduate member of Christ-
church, Oxford, has seceded to the Church of Rome; and Mrs. Dayman,
with two of her daughters, the widow and children of the Rev. Charles Day-
man, vicar of Great Tew, in Oxfordshire, and a select preacher at Oxford,
have also joined the Romish communion. Mrs. Dayman's son, a graduate
of Exeter College, Oxford, and a clergyman in the diocese of Worcester,
Digitized by
Google
264 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
were recently announced as having preceded his relatiyes in the course of
apostacy.
We learn, from the New York Freeman's Journal that six converts were
recently received into the Church at Newark, New Jersey, consisting, we
believe, of the two Pr. Hassels, and of their respective families. These con-
versions were preceded by that of the father of these gentlemen. Dr. Hassel,
of New York, and are all attributable, under God, to the earnest and unos-
tentatious influence and prayers of Dr. Thomas, whom, previous to his con-
version, they used to look to as their religious teachen
Secessions to Rome. — We regret to learn that two estimable clergy-
men, highly beloved and respected for their amiable character and the exem-
plary discharge of their sacred duties, were received at Rome in Easter week
into the Roman Catholic Church. Their names are the Rev. John Henry
Wynne, B.C.L., Fellow of All Souls' College, and the Rev. James Laird
Patterson, M.A., of Trinity College. — Tiroes,
We understand that the Rev. William Dodsworth, perpetual curate of
Christ's Church, St. Pancras, has resigned his incumbency, with the inten-
tion of joining the Catholic Church.
FOREIGN.
Austria. — Imperial Decree on the Relations ofthe Church and
THE Holy See. — "With the view of putting into execution the rights guar-
ranteed to the Catholic Church by par. 2 of the letters-patent, dated May 4,
1849, 1» on the report of my Minister of Public Worship and Instruction, and
by the advice of my Council of Ministers, approve of the following arrange-
ments for all those countries of my empire concerned in these letters-patent.
'* 1. It is permitted, both to the Bishops and to the Faithful committed to
their care, to address themselves to the Pope on ecclesiastical affairs, and to
receive the decisions and orders of the Pope without having occasion for a '
previous permission from the temporal authorities.
" 2. The Catholic Bishops are permitted to address exhortations and
regulations on subjects within their competence, and in the limits of their
jurisdiction, to their Clergy and their communes, without previous approbation
of the temporal authority. Nevertheless, if their decrees carry along with
them external results, and if thev are to be published, they are bound to
send a copy to the authorities oi the district where the promulgation or
application is to take place.
'' 3. Those ordinances are abolished which forbade the ecclesiastical
authority to inflict Church penalties, not having any influence on civil rights."
" 4. It belongs to the ecclesiastical power to suspend from their ecclesias-
tical functions, or to deprive — in the form laid down by the canon laws —
those who do not exercise those functions conformably to their duty, and to
declare them dispossessed of the revenues attached thereto.
'^ 5. The co-operation of the temporal authority may be demanded for the
execution of the judgment, if the regular proceeding of the Ecclesiastical
authority has been communicated to it, with the proper documents.
" 6. My Minister of Public Worship and Instruction is charged with the
foregoing ordinances.
'*' If a Catholic Priest abuses his functions to such an extent that his
deprivation becomes necessary, my authorities will, in the first instance, treat
with hi& Ecclesiastical superiors.
" If a Catholic Priest is under condemnation for a crime or an offence
{dilit), the tribunals will transmit to the Bishop, at his request, the acts of
instruction.
'* I consider the right which I possess of nominating the Bishops, as
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 265-
having been transmitted me by my ancestors, and I desire to exercise it
conscientiously fur the utility and welfare of the Church. When I nominate
to Bishoprics, I will, as I have always done up to this day, take counsel of
the Bishops, and, above all, of those of the Ecclesiastical province where the
vacant See is situated.
" In whatever concerns the forms to be observed in the exercise of the
rights of the Sovereign in the nomination to Ecclesiastical employments and
prehends, my Minister of Public Worship and Instruction will lay before me
the necessary propositions. .
'* Each Bishop will be at liberty, in his diocese, to ordain and direct public
worship in the tenor of the resolutions adopted by the assembly of the
Bishops.
''In places where the Catholic population forms the majority, my
authorities will take care that the feast of the Sunday, and the other Cathohc
festivals, be not disturbed by noisy handicrafts, or by public commercial
movement.
'* I moreover recognise the communications made to me by the assembly-
of the Bishops, and I authorise my Minister of Public Worship and Instruc-
tion to carry them out according to the views which they embodv.
" I desire that a report be made to me as soon as possible, on the questions
not yet decided ; and, if it be necessary to set on foot negociations with the
Holy See, the required arrangements must be made. The same order is
Kiven as regards the means which my Government ought to use to keep
remote from public affairs men who would compromise social order.
*' Francis Joseph.
" Vienna, 8th April. 1850."
Italy — Rome : Illumination at St. Peter's. — Of all places in the
i^orld where illumination can produce the greatest effect, or where fireworks
can be seen to advantage, Rome offers the most striking situations ; and I
defy you to select, in any other part of Europe, a centre round which mil-
lions of lamps can be exhibited like the cupola of St. Peter's, or a frontage
equal to that of the Castle of St. Angelo, where the revolving wheel or the
magical bouquet can be so well displayed. I have heheld from the heights
of Pera, 10,000 wooden houses hurning in Constantinople, on the opposite
side of the Golden Horn, and I have seen over and over again, all that Louis
Philippe could do in front of the garden of the Palius Bourbon, to convince
the people that the state of France was as brilliant as his annual exhibition.
But, though there was something terribly suhlime in the one, and not a little
of attraction in the other, both fell short of the magical illusion produced on
these occasions in the Eternal City. The illumination of the cupola is the
perfection of art, and a masterpiece of scenic effect. You are first shown
the front of the great temple, and the cupola lighted up with a multitude of
paper lanterns, and, admitting that the thing is very grand, you feel some-
thing like regret that it is not all you expected ; when, at a given signal,
with the touch of thought, so rapid that the eye or the mind can scarcely
follow it, you see the whole cupola one blaze of miUions of sparkling lamps,
and you are lost in surprise and wonder. In one second of time the whole
cupola has burst into a flame of ardent fire, each lamp being separate and
distinct, and each requiring the action of the Promethean torch. I must
tell you how the instantaneous lighting up is produced. You must under-
stand that what the Romans call the ''Ave Maria" is the hour of sunset,
because in good old times every one uncovered bis head and addressed a
short prayer to the Virgin. Well, at that hour the first lighting up of St.
Peter's takes place, and for one hour exactly you see the innumerable paper
lanterns within which so many farthing candles are hid. Now, exactly at
half-past eight, three tolls of a great bell are heard, and at the third the paper
Digitized by
Google
266 MONTHLY INTBLLIOENCE.
lanterns have all disappeared, and the cupola and portico are one chaiii of
fire. The simple fact is, that hundreds — nay, thousands — of men and boys
are hid behind the several panes where the lamps are hung, some on their
feet, some on ladders, and some suspended from places where ladders can-
not reach. Each of these men has a light, which be carefully conceals, and
is charged with seven lamps, the wicks of all being previously tipped with
turpentine, so that when the first bell is heard each match flies to its nearest
lamp, and before the third is tolled the whole seven are in a blaze. Long
practice has made these illuminators perfect, and last night, as on all former
occasions, the experiment was attended with magical success.
The public Benediction by the Pope in person took place to-day, at the
Church of St. John Lateran. On a former occasion the French army received
the Papal Benediction in the great square of St Peter's, but on this day the
Benediction was intended for ^1 the world, and the immense area in front of
the great Basilica was thronged. A tribune was prepared for the sacred
Pontiff over the main portico of the church, and to it was every eye directed.
At length the sound of artillery from the Castle of St. Angelo, which we call
tlie "Canons of the Churchy" was heard, and in a few minutes the tribune was
filled with Cardinals. Shortly after the Pope himself appeared, borne in
full Pontificals on a high chair, which allowed him to see and be seen by all
the world, and as he rose up to sav the opening prayer, the immense crowd
was hushed to solemn silence, ana the people in the square, and the ladies
in the carriages, fell on their knees, and the prayers of some thousand per-
sons rose in a low voice to heaven. Then were heard the deep tones of Pio,
None, uttering the preparatory prayer, every word of which was distinctly
audible at the furthest limit of the crowd, and after it the chanting of the
responses made by the choir and the people, who were ranged beneath the
platform. Next came a pause, as if to give time for a solemn prayer before
the Benediction itself was pronounced, and then up rose the Pontiff, and*
extending his arms held his open palms over the heads of the multitude, and
pronounced the solemn Beneaiction. The people knelt in pious submission
at his feet, and as the last words were uttered each of the Faithful made the
sign of the cross. The Pope returned in solemn state to the Vatican,
escorted by the noble guard, and by the acclamation of the people.
The " girandola " — that is to say, the fireworks — took place later in the
night on the battlements of the Castle of St. Angelo, the front of the Castle
itself being covered with the slight reeds within which the combustible
materials were concealed. Imagine the darkest night (dark nights are neces-
sarily selected), and on the banks of a deep river, a ch&teau of the middle
ages, romantic in its form, and of great extent, with a bridge connecting
the castle with the opposite shore, from each battlement of which stands
forth a gigantic statue, the white marble being distinguishable amid the
surrounding gloom. Observe the tiny boats with a light in each, gliding in
the stream, and allowing the waters of the Tiber to be seen ; and listen to
the voices of the thousand persons collected near the bridge, some occupying
the windows and balconies of all the mansions, and the rest packed, as
densely as they can be packed, in every open space whence a prospect can
be obtained. Nothing, except at intervals, can be seen, but you have
evidence from your ears that a great multitude is assembled, and your mind
is filled with the actual solemnity of the scene, and the expectation that
something still more magnificent is to appear. On a sudden the flash of a
cannon from the rampart is seen, and the loud report is heard. Another and
another succeeds, and the line of fire renders for instants visible the romantic
vision. Then comes the opening of the "girandola," and from every part of
the castle and the battlements flash forth fantastic figures, stars, birds of
paradise, roses, and showers of gold, until the air is one mass of yellow light.
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 267
and you feel as if transported to an atmosphere worthy of Califoroia. Then
comes the applause of the crowd, overpowering?, hy its intensity, the noise of
the cannon and the exploding fireworks, till all sinks away like the dream of
a moment, and, in lieu of the golden shower, stands forth a palace of silver,
in the midst of which is noticed, in diamond letters, a sentimental tribute to
Pio Nono. The palace dissolves, and, from its ruins, spring arrows of flame,
serpents of fire, and darts of brilliant lustre flying towards heaven, or sporting
to the river, whilst behind each screen garlands of roses, with centres of
amethyst, are discovered, and an immense parterre of buds, and blossoms,
and blooming flowers of every hue appears.
Rome is perfectly tranquil. The French garrison remains ; but all the
general officers, except two, return to France. — Abridged from the Times,
The holy Father has just named his eminence Cardinal Patrizi, member of
the congregation de Propaganda Fide; their eminences the Cardinals Orioli and
Vizzardelli, members of the congregation of the Ecclesiastical Aflairs of China
and the adjacent kingdoms ; and his eminence Cardinal Dupont, member of
the congregation of Rites.
PARLIAMENTARY RECORD.
Thursday, May 9- — Roman Catholic Witnbssbs.
Mr. R. M. Fox rose to put a question to Sir G. Grey. On Tuesday last at
the Clerkenwell Police-court, a man of the name of Reardon was put into
the witness box. The New Testament was handed to him, but before he
was sworn, the officer of the court, after ascertaining that be was a Roman
Catholic, told him to make the sign of the Cross. Keardon refused, stating
that it was an insult to him to ask him to do so, as it implied that unless he
first made the sign he would not consider his oath on the Evangelists bind-
ing. Mr. Combe, the presiding magistrate, then took up the matter, and
said he had never before known a Roman Catholic witness refuse to make
the sign of the Cross before being sworn. Reardon still refused, and Mr.
Combe said, that if a Roman Catholic Priest were present, he would say
that unless he first made the sign of the cross a Roman Catholic would not
consider himself bound by his oath on the Evangelists to tell the truth.
Reardon persisted, and was sworn without making the sign. His evidence-
contradicted tha^ of witnesses on the opposite side. Mr. Combe said he
would believe the other witnesses in preference to him (Reardon). The^
latter asked Mr. Combe if he meant to sa^ that he (Reardon) was a perjured
man. Mr. Combe distinctly told him, twice over, that he was so. He (Mr.
Fox) wished to know what notice her Majesty's Secretary of State meant to
take of this extraordinary proceeding.
Sir G. Grey said that his attention had been called by Lord Arundel and
Surrey to the proceedings referred to ; he directed a letter to be written to
Mr. Cumbe, requesting any explanation with regard to it. Mr. Combe
stated, in reply, that the report was generaUy accurate, and that Reardon
was asked to cross himself according to the usual practice at that Court, and
Mr. Combe stated that in some instances he had known Catholic parties
insisting upon Catholic witnesses being required to cross themselves, because
otherwise the witnesses would not consider the oath to be binding. Mr.
Combe added that the opinion he afterwards expressed as to the credit due
to the witness was not on the ground of his refusing to cross himself. He
(Sir G. Grey) must however, say, that having made inquiries of several per-
sons well informed on the subject, it appeared to be clear that, although in
frequent instances Roman Catholic witnesses among the lowest classes volun-
tarily crossed themselves before they were sworn, not the slightest right existed
to require them to do so, and that the practice of requiring them to do so
Digitized by
Google
268 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
was wholly unknown in the ordinary Courts, hotfa in this country and in
Ireland, and he (Sir G. Grey) believed it did not exist in any other of ^t
metropolitan police courts. Mr Combe had accordingly been informed that
the practice snould be forthwith discontinued at the Clerkenwell Court.
BIRTHS.
On the 26th of April, at Brixton-rise, the wife of Fbsderick Capbs,
Esq., of a son.
On the 3rd of May, at 29> Sussex-place, Kensington, the wife of John
WooLLBTT, Esq., barrister-at-law, of a daughter.
On the 7th of May, at Ince Blundell-hall, Lancashire, the lady of Thos.
Weld Blundbll, Esq., of a daughter.
On the 12th of May, the Lady of the Chevalier db Zulueta, of a
son.
MARRIAGES.
On the 23rd of April, at Oporow, in the Grand Duchy of Posen, Chas.
DE LA Babbe Bodbnham, Only son of Charles Thomas Bodenham,
Esq., of Rotherwas, Herefordshire, to Irbna, third daughter of Count
Morowski, of Oporow, formerly Prime Minister to the King of Saxony.
On the 7th of May, at Florence, at the British Legation, by the Rev. G.
Robins, and, on the following day, by the Archbishop of Florence, Guido,
Marquis Mannelli Riccardi, to Christine, third daughter of the late
William Reader, Esq. of Banghurst-house, Hants.
On the 8th of May, at St. Patrick's Chapel, by the Rev. Thomas Lolig,
Mr. Holland Taylor, of Manchester, to Charlotte, second daughter
of the late Mr. Thomas Herbert, of Great Russell-street, Bloomsbury-
square.
On the 14th of May, at St. George's Church, Southwark, by the Rev.
James Danell, and afterwards at St. Giles's, Camberwell, by the Rev.
Charles Howes, R. T. Duarte, Esq., of Liverpool, to Louisa, youngest
daughter of the late Henry Withington, Esq., of Pendleton.
On the I6th instant, at St. George's Catholic Church, Southwark, by
the Rev. Mr. Cotter, and at St. James's, Sussex-gardens, Hyde-park,
Frederick Randall, Esq., of Highbury, to Dame Sarah Blbn-
NERHA88ETT, relict of the late Sir Arthur Blennerhasset, of Churchtown,
county of Kerry, Bart.
DEATHS.
On the 20th of April, the Rev. J. Kirk, for many years Phworator of
Ushaw College.
On the 4th of May, at the residence of his father, at Grenagh, the
Rev. Cornelius Horgan, M.CC, aged 36.
On the 4th of May, at his residence, George-street, Portman-squaie,
Matthew D'Arcy Talbot, Esq., aged 63.
On the 9th of May, at 13, Garnault- place, Clerkenwell, the Rev. Patrick
M'Clean, of Rosoman-street ; a man of exemplary piety and benevolence,
and loved and respected by all who knew him.
On the 9th of May, at his residence, Oxford-street, Liverpool, John
LuPTON, Esq., in his 79th year.
i
Digitized by
Google
THE CATHOLIC
MAGAZINE AND REGISTEE.
No. LXV. July, 1860. Vol. XI.
A GLIMPSE OF AMERICA.
How ofiten the affectionate entreaties of friends come pleasantly
to second our own wishes ! So it was with me ; me winter
months passed in planning a Tisit to America ; and, with true
woman's fears, in changing my mind with the alternate changes
from rough to calm, from wet to dry weather. But early spring
found me resolved to cross the Atiantic for the third time, and
to take a glimpse of tiie happiness of dearly loved relatives
enjoying the cheering prosperity of prosperous New York. In
the bright sunshine of a March forenoon, I went on board a
splendid packet-ship bound from a southern port in Ireland to
Baltimore. Our accommodations as cabin passengers were
really excellent. I could not help wishing that the poor
emigrants who crowded the steerage could have even one-fourth
of the comforts tiiat surrounded us. Poor creatures ! how many
among them are leaving tiie old country with aching hearts and
yet sanguine hopes, their littie all scraped together to take them
to the land of plenty ! Good byes are soon said, and the
captain and pilot come on board, and all is bustie preparing for
immediate departure. From our deck, we perceive some com-
motion going on amongst tiie emigrants. One of our fellow
passengers is a regular Paul Pry, and finds out that there are
policemen and bailiffs on board, who are actively searching for
two men supposed to be running off with money of their
employer. Their search was unavailing, and they applied to
the captain for his interference. He neither knowing nor caring
for the merits of the case, coolly replied " Stop till the anchor
is up, and tiie topsail set : I am too busy now.'' The ship being
instantly put under weigh, the policemen were obliged to retreat,
VOL XI. u
Digitized by
Google
270 A GLIMPSE OF AMERICA.
and were saluted by a general sliout of laughter from the
emigrants as they clambered into their boat. I shall not discuss
the justice of the feeling which made some amongst us not
regret the poor men's escape, for they were actually secreted on
board. Short as had been our dwelling on the bosom of old
ocean, we had imbibed an idea of our liberty which this search
seemed to affect !
And now we are off with a steady breeze filling our topsails ;
we pace the deck in high spirits, free from all fear of channel
fogs ; we admire the bold headlands, the waves now breaking on
the steep rocks at their base, and now throwing up showers of
dazzling spray. And how the emigrants cluster to the ship's
side to gaze eagerly on the loved Isle they are leaving for ever !
Sickness has yet aJflfected few amongst them : and the bonnets
and caps in their particularly showy fresh trimmings, and the
gay looking plaid cloaks, for which the young girls have given
up the homely serviceable country cloak of stout cloth, are still
uninjured. What a different picture they will present when
they land in their new home !
The twilight is deepening around us, and the land is gradually
fading away. The wind, too, is freshening and whistles aloft
among the ship's tackling. But loud above the noises of the
wind or the seething waters around us, rises the farewell of the
emigrants ; three or four manly voices first take up a moumfiil
chaunt ; it is to a familiar old Irish melody ; their many voices
join, and the harmony spreads o'er the waters — they raise a
cheer — I hope I shall never hear such another — so strong
in its love for the land they are leaving, so saddening ! At
that hour, there seemed no hope in its wailing sound; but it
told to my ears of years of misery, as it rose in the evening air.
All night that sorrowful adieu was in my ears ; and yet I looked
next morning in vain for sad faces among the emigrants^ The
day was bright and warm, and we sailed with a favouring breeze,
and all appeared hope and content. The third day at sea opens
upon us with still fair wi^ather. We cabin passengers look on
each other now as quite old acquaintances ; we have a young
poet with abundance of talent and a superabundance of romance
amongst us ; he is going out as a settler to a flourishing Western
city of the States; but he owns to have left his heart behind
him in the guardianship of a pair of lovely blue eyes.
In the afternoon, all the steerage passeQgers, amounting to
1 58, were ordered on deck, and their berths below were examined,
the captain expecting to find 12 or 15 " stowaways." "What is
a stowaway ?" I asked : he pointed to a very fine-looking sailor,
and told me that he had been a stowaway ; that when he had
Digitized by
Google
A GLIMPSE OF AMERICA. 271
been five days at sea from Liverpool, a sailor had heard some one
eougb among the oargo. ^' Who is there ?'' asked he. ^^ Fm a
stowaway," was the reply ; and there, regularly packed up in a
flour barrel, was a fine stout boy. '^ I liked his independent
look," said the captain, ^^ so I gave him his passage to America.
He has remained with me ever since, and I find him a most
useful sailor."
When all the emigrants were on deck, their names were
called separately ; and as each showed their receipts, they were
let down. At length the deck was cleared to about six.
These were stowaways. A very fat woman with three children
the captain most kindly sent down at once; and then came a
most miserably squalid man, looking indeed as if he had eaten
nothing since he came on board, and not enough for a very
long time before. The captain walked away and left him to
the mate. " So you are a stowaway," said he. " I am, that's
true for you," answered the poor man. "Well, prepare to
die like a man," said the mate, "for you shall be hanged."
"There's not much left me that's worth living for, anyway ,**
replied the stowaway. " I had no money, nor no one to pay
my passage. I couldn't live in the poor-house, into which my
poor wife and children had to go." The mate had prepared
a rope, tried it on himself, then had the poor man's eyes
ban(£iged. He seemed too much stunned to utter a word.
The rope was put over his head, but careftdly slipped under
his arms ; the mate gave the word, and away went the poor
fellow to the top mast, amidst the loud laughter of the sailors.
I thought the joke far too strong. He was immediately
brought down, and stood on deck. " Well, instead of being
hanged you shall marry that fat lady stowaway," said the mate.
"Marry her!" exclaimed Paddy, vrith a comical look; "sure
I'm no Turk, that I'd have two vrives. What would I do with
Biddy and the childer ?" "Don't you mind Biddy," replied the
mate ; and he called up the ftit woman ; dressed himself some-
thing like a paarson ; and read a mock ceremony, joining their
hands together, notwithstanding the violent resistance the bride
ofiered. Paddy took the whole in good humour, which was
not lost upon the mate, who made a collection among the crew
for him and generously gave it all to the poor feUow. We
were told that he fared right well among his countrymen, and
that he made himself actively useftil, and that his bride being
dreadfully ill during the passage, he took the greatest care
of her helpless children.
The monotony of a life at sea must be felt to be understood.
The 17th, St. Patrick's, our national fSte, should be of course
u 2
Digitized by
Google
272 A GLIMPSE OF AMERICA.
Stormy, and so it was ; but now and then above the gale rose
the sound of song from the emigrants. They were trying to
keep their festival, poor creatured. Towards evening we sat
on deck, as the wind lulled, and we had our music, for several
amongst us sang prettily. Our first Sunday on sea shone
in summer brightness, and we were all early on deck, enjoying
a delicious breeze, which we would have greatly preferred had
it come from the glorious east, instead of west by south. No
one that has not made a long passage in a sailing vessel can
fiilly understand how the changes of the wind change our
looks, so anxiously do we all speak of them and give each other
entire sympathy. Our steerage passengers were all in holiday
attire, doing honour to the Sabbath, and after their morning
meal I saw numbers of them kneeling, some with prayer books,
some without, all apparently praying vriith deep fervour to the
"Lord of all."
The night that followed that glorious day was indeed awful ;
even our stolid American captain owned that it was " A very
considerable storm." For a time the vessel was allowed to go
with the vnnd for the purpose of taking down the sails. Oh !
the terrors of that long, long night. When daylight appeared
it was such a relief ! Two rough days followed, and the captain
comforted us by saying, " We have made great way, being more
than one-third of the passage."
What trifling incidents interest in the monotony of a sea life !
A newly discovered romance among our poor emigrants has
created quite a sensation. There is a " happy couple " who
were made one some days before we left Ireland. The bride is
elderly and plain, but having a good fortune, the bridegroom, a
very handsome young man, chose her as his wife, and with her
money they are enabled to emigrate. Though still in the month
of honey, he so far exerted his conjugal authority as to beat her
cruelly last night. The mate separated them, and declared the
bridegroom should be instantiy put into irons, when the poor
wife rushed forward, threw herself on her knees, saying, as she
wept bitterly, " Oh ! sir, pray don't hurt poor James ; he'll never
do it again, I'm sure :'^ and the romance of tiie tale is, that he
was converted, and tried his best to make his wife happy.
Another stowaway was found ; a baby was bom in the steerage
to a life of hardship ; and another far more fortunate baby died,
and was buried in the deep sea, to the heart-rending grief of a
vnretched-looking mother : such are my entries in this day's diary.
On fine days, we sit on deck and read and work, and in the
evenings we have music. Then most glorious is a fine sunset
at sea ; then the bright stars succeed so rapidly, and above them
Digitized by
Google
A GLIMPSE OF AMEBICA. 273
all, lovely Venus descends apparently into the ocean. On rough
days, we are ill, in different degrees of comparison, and we lie
on our sofas, and try to think the ?dnd is sending us ahead. I
am writing this in our general saloon, and some of my travelling
companions are writing opposite me; and as the ship leans to
my side, their portfolios, journals, letters, pay me a visit. Could
any of my friends on terra firma see the vessel now rising to an
immense height, now sinking in the deep waves, how terrified
they would be ! and still this scene, fearful as it is to many
around us, is not without a little set-off in the way of amusement.
A crowd of emigrants had collected outside the cabin door, and
one among them slipped and gave the impetus to the others
who all tumbled down together like a pack of cards set up by a
ohild. As they lay sprawling, an immense wave broke hign over
the side of the vessel and saturated them. A loud peal of
laughter was the poor creatures* reply to it. Our 24th day at
sea was quite an era in our maritime life, for we had entered the
Oulf of Florida ; the captain, by testing the heat of the sea
water, found what part of it we were in, as the water in the
centre of the gulf is ten degrees warmer than the air. I put
my hand into some freshly hauled up and found it more than
tepid ; the air at the same time was very cool. We had been
hoping to see land, but a calm delayed us three days. It is
amusing how often we express to each other our wish to have
our voyage over, and though we all get on together in the most
friendly social manner, we echo tibie wish to part in perfect
sincerity and good humour.
Land, land, came at last, and was welcomed with a joyous
shout. To us, with all our cabin comforts, and the unwearying
attentions of the captain, how pleasant was the cry, and how
much more so, to our poorer companions ! Our pilot appeared
in due time ; a huge mass of yellow oil-doth. The meeting
between him and the captain was most characteristic. A hearty
shake hands, and " Captain — ^how d'ye do sa ? " and ^' Mr. T.t-
how d'ye do sa?" — not a word more, and they parted. Now
that we are in smooth water with the city in view, the captain
tells us of dreadful gales we have encountered, and says he never
had a finer passage, taking ice and wind into account, than that
just passed. Baltimore harbour is very commodious, with a
narrow entrance defended by a fort. Here sailed by us ships
to all parts of the world, carrying for the most part flour and
tobacco. Our last evening on board, was a very gay, delightful
one ; we had music and of course abundance of conversation.
Talking of pretty women, our captain said, "The Baltimore
ladies beat the world for beauty." • I added that the American
Digitized by
Google
$74 A GLIMPSE OF AMERICA.
ladies age sooner than those of Europe, owing to the diftiiile
which fades them so soon. The young poet lodced quite n^
at me, and with a sigh asked in a low mehuicholj voice, '^ And
do beautiful young girls who go out there from Europe fade
quickly, too?'' My reply i^as a laugh, in which all around
heartily joined, and which brought a very becoming blush to
the radier sallow cheek of the lover.
The 28di day after we left Ireland smiled a welcome on us
landing in Baltimore ; and we parted with our good captain
heartily wishing that we might meet him again. Coming from
the quays to our hotel, I was forcibly struck with the effect of
the very bright sunshine, on the fresh-looking houses. I
remembered once coming to London up the Thames after a
stay on the Continent and being overwhelmed with the peculiar
dingy look of the houses on the wharves, and with the heavy air :
here, all seemed free from smoke or dirt. And oh ! the luxury
of the ^^ Exchange " after the long ship confinement, and the
comfort of sleeping in a bed that you can stretch in without
being afraid of hurting yourself, and can turn about in without
fear of tumbling out, as I did many times during our voyage !
Baltimore is a very pretty town, and so rapid has been its increase
that the population, winch in 1792 was scarcely 13,000, is now
more than 62,000 ; founded in 1729, it played a considerable
part in the war of independence, and in 1814 repulsed the
English from its walls, killing General Ross. I admired the
monument erected in honour of this success, but tax more that
in memory of the great Washington.
I attended a very brilliant soiree at the house of an acquaint-
ance, and here I was introduced to Mdme. Bonaparte, the wife
of Jerome Bonaparte who was forced to divorce her by his
arbitrary brother ; she might have been a queen, and I fancied
she would have had no objection to the honour. She still
retains great traces of beauty in her fiELce, but her figure is low
and broad. She gave me rather curious and amusing accounts
of society in Baltimore, all coloured by her peculiar views.
This was my re-introduction, if I may use the term, to American
society, and what struck on my ear, was the very disagreeable
accent, even coming as I just did from the ^^ brogues " of Old
Ireland. The egregious faults in grammar, and the horrid nasal
twang, among persons of good education, were to me most
amazing and unpleasant.
My transit from Baltimore to New York took only thirteen
and a half hours. On reaching the railway terminus, I opened
wide my eyes to look for something uncommon (railways had
sprung up since I left America), and all I observed peculiar wa$
Digitized by
Google
A GLIMPSE OF AMERICA. 275
the repablicftu mixture of all classes, in the enormous car, not
carriage, in which all classes sat and paid the same fare. The
journey to Philadelphia was through an uninteresting country,
through long cuttings of fresh looking red sand. I was not
geologist enough to examine the strata. At five o'clock, the
change into a steamer at Philadelphia and the passage across
the Delaware, here a very fine river, to Trenton, was most
delightful. Here we again fraternised in the railway car to
Jersey city, and crossed from this to New York in a ferry
steamer in three minutes. ^^Oh, the blessings of steam P' I
gratefully exclaimed when I found myself after so many years
in the home of my childhood, with the dear old familiar faces
smiling around me, and the new faces since added to the fire-
side circle beaming a not less kind welcome ! And I felt proud
of the city of my youth as we drove next day through the
magnificent streets, so beautifully clean, and so straight. More,
than once, I began to fancy I was looking on a highly-finished
picture, the colours were so bright and the shadows so well
defined. *^ Think how few are the years this great city has seen,''
said my companion addressing me ; ^' here on this very spot
probably the Indian had his forest sanctuary. And now in
its fresh beauty and rapid progress, allow it is a fit capital iot
our new world." Several mornings saw me going over tJie noble
monuments of this great city. I must particularize the City
Hall, built in pure white marble ; the Museums, and the
delightful Deaf and Dumb Institute. I ended my sight-seeing
by a visit to the Federal Hall, where Washington took the oath
of office in 1789 at the foundation of the federal constitution.
Haying seen the ^* lions," in true lady-fashion we would have*
a day's shopping, a supposed necessity in woman's life ;
a ^'shurred hat" at least sounds something new, but it soon
Anglicised itself into a drawn-in silk bonnet. ^^ Well, a pretty
fancy straw bonnet, must be native manufacture : I'll take it,"
thought I. But our fashionable milliner with quite an affronted
air, assured me ^^ it had just come from Paris." So had shawls
and caps and dresses, ad infinitum, with their prices somewhat
added to by their trip ^' across the Atlantic." An American
toilette, however, would be forthcoming at a dinner party at
the house of one of the elite of New York to which we were
invited ; and here I thought I should see something very new.
But no : I might have been dining in London, except that iii
French style the gentlemen left the table with the ladies, and
that the hours were very dissimilar, for we bid good-night at
eight o'clock. . '^ An evening party must show me something
more American ;" and with this hope, I entered the brilliantly*
Digitized by
Google
276 A GLIMPSE OF AMERICA*
lighted saloons of Mrs. B. There was neidier music nor dancing,
nor cafd-playing ; nothing but conversation ; and abundance of
that in no dulcet tones. The lady and gendeman of the house
walked about incessantly introducing persons to each other, and
I, as a stranger, was presented to seyeral. My d6but was a
presentation to a gentleman, one that was evidently thought a
great deal of— he had been to Europe ; that is, he had passed a
few weeks in London, " where," he said, " a lady remarked to
him with surprise, ^that he spoke English as plainly as an
Englishman;'" — ^with not quite so agreeable a tone of yoioe,
thought T. He asked me about fifty questions, and corrected
me several times on matters of fact in English and Irish politics;
I being right, he wrong ; and he ended the conference by coolly
assuring me ^' he did not think at all the worse of me, or of
people, for being Irish." A lady next, en passant, complained
of the heat of the weather : ^' It was so hot all day," said she,
^^I could not set or lay anywheres;" then she added, she
suffered dreadfully from neuralgia — she had the appearance of
robust health — and that she generally dined on a *^ cookey : "
neuralgia being a kind of nervous disease of which I heard num-
bers complain ; " cookey " is a cake. This evening, I was
forcibly struck with the accent. I had been admiring a very
beautiful young girl : her face was lovely, perfectly faultless ;
but I forgot all this when she spoke strongly through her nose,
and asked me, " Was you ever in Paris ?" on my replying in
the affirmative, she exclaimed, ^^ I expect Til have a speU of
talk with you;" and of course questions followed questions.
We left at the rational hour of eleven, having had an excellent
'supper comprising every delicacy of ihe season, as the news-
papers would say.
My next appearance in public was at a fashionable wedding
and receptipn afterwards. The bride, she was not lovely, wore
a white figured satin dress, with innumerable lace flounces, and
the usual supply of orange flowers in her hair ; and her four
bridesmaids wore white muslin dresses, and wreathes of wood-
bine in their hair. But I greatly disliked the style of dress, for
all wore their necks bare and short sleeves, and gave one the
idea of a ball costume, more than that of a sacred ceremony in
a sacred edifice. To the reception, we had all been invited
some days previously by cards from the mother and bride,
naming the wedding day, and saying ^^at home from: two to
five." The bridegroom took every lady to the bride and men-
tioned her name, and then there was a kiss, or a shake hands,
or a curtsey, according to the degree of intimacy. The gentle-
men I saw walking up, bowing, and then retiring. A litde
Digitized by
Google
A OLIMP8B OF AMERICA. 277
fe'omabce wHs told me at this reception of one of the obmpanj
whom I had remarked for her peculiarly fiuBcinating expresmon
of face : — ^in one of the states lived a very rich couple, wanting
nothing to make them happy but children to inherit their fortune*
The lady's health was yery delicate, so much so that three
children bom all died in early infancy. Doctors were vainly
consulted, when a simple country M. D. recommended her an
easy remedy, though she thought a very troublesome one. It
was to suckle a baby for six months. The wife of a poor Irish
mechanic with, of course, a large family, readily furnished the
infant ; it grew in beauty and was loved and adopted in its new
home, and it had not reached *its second year when its foster-
mother was blessed with a son, who did not die ; several other
children followed, and all grew up in health and strength ; the
little Irish nursling being carefully reared among them and
educated as one of the family ; and in her 2Srd year really
became one of them by marrying her foster-brother.
From a wedding to the grave is but a step. We drove next
day to Greenwood Cemetery, which is more like a demesne
than a burial ground. I was told the circumference was fully
six miles. There are hills and valleys, and woods and lakes,
and the whole intersected by several avenues ; and then monu-
ments and vaults scattered at distances. One very magnificent
tomb, which cost 820,000 dollars, was shown to me ; it was the
last home of a sweet young girl and only child, Charlotte C ,
who, on her 1 7th birth-day, met a fearful death. A party waft
given by a firiend to compliment her. She drove with a
young friend and her own father to the house ; and as he was
ascending the hall door steps, this young lady, his daughter,
remained in the carriage ; ^e horses took fright, ran away,
and she was found senseless in the street and was taken into
an hotel, where the unfortunate parents only arrived in time to
h^ar her last sigh. They find vent for their feelings in adding
ornaments to this costly monument.
One lovely June afternoon, we started, a large merry party,
for Westpoint. The steamer left at five o'clock, and certainly
the sail up the Hudson is most beautiful, the Palisades now
rising abruptly from the water, now deep in shade, and now
glowing in the bright sunshine. I was quite sorry when we
landed at Westpoint. We drove in an enormous omnibus
about a mile up hill to Coyzen's new and magnificent hotel.
The immense drawing room of it, sixty feet square, handsomely
furnished, and with a superb lustre, lighted with gas, seemed
a blaze of light as we entered. There were groups of ladies,
over-dressed I thought, sitting about, and all apparent gaiety,
Digitized by
Google
978 A OLIMPSB OF AMERICA.
and indeed Ibng liter we retired t^ our bed-rooms we heard
title '^ sounds of reveilry by night/' and I fell asleep with a
fiuiiiliar polka sounding in my ears. The military college here
28 celebrated through America ; one of the professors insinuated
that it was so over the whole known world. Kosciusko's
nionument was of course visited, and that likewise to Major
Dade and comrades, who were killed by a party of Mexican
Indians. The Americans on the occasion were 108, and were
all slaughtered es^cept three men. In the evening we had
music and dancing, and I saw among the gayest dancers the
young bride. Her vis-d-vis iu the quadrille one time attracted
my attention, for I thought I had never seen such loveliness,
such grace, and such an expression of intellect combined ; but
she was^ like all American women, too much dressed and loaded
with . jewels. Next day, we bade adieu to Westpoint and
i^mbarked in the *^ New World,'' said to be the largest steamer
in the world. The sail to Albany was delightful, varied by
exquisite music from German musicians and by a very agreeable
reunion at a French dinner, attended l^ servants speaking
French, so many nations met round that table that day. Albany
is now a thriving well built town, with some fine buildings,
especially the Capitol, or palace of the state, some noble quays,
and a museum and literary establishment, even in this ^' far
West" And charity has not been forgotten, for we visited a
delightful establishment for two hundred poor children and
forty orphs^ns, conducted by seven Sisters of Charity. It was
pleasant to see the feeling of perfect confidence with which
the little ones came to the mother superioress and the other
sisters, the very youngest clinging to their dresses, fearing the
strangers. We quitted Albany at nine o'clock in the rail car
for Utica, where we arrived at two o'clock, having passed
tiirough a most lovely country, blessed with promise of an
abundant harvest, and the great £rie canal close by to carry it
to other markets. The sight once more of real forests in our
drive from Utica to the falls was to me an old familiar sight
and very delightful, so many city folks at New York had
laughed at my love of these primeval woods, and talked of the
sameness of the lank tall trees. I sttU think them beautiful
specimens of nature's handiwork. The hotel near the falls is
«weetly situated, and the falls themselves much visited and
thought of by Americans. What in their country is not? I may
ask. Passing a thickly wooded hill on one side and steep
precipitous rocks on the other, and with a great amount of
clambering and slipping, and the accompaniments of ladies'
a^reams and exclamations, we reached the falls and admired
Digitized by
Google
A GLIMPSE OF. AMERICA. 279
them with nervousness, galling oq ^> rash of waters. Oar
homeward drive, with llie eyening sun gilding our forest way,
I thought better than all.
We were .again at home 10 New York just in time to'weloome
Father Mathew, who had a publio reoeptiOn on the 2nd July.
The principal streets were eroii^ded to excess^ and there was
a very long procession, with bfomiirs and. music. .1 CQuld have
imagined myself in old Ireland^ The apostle of temperance
passed throughin an open carriage,- aiid bouquets were showered
upon him from all sides. He replied to the address with
fulness of voice^ and eloquence o£ language. I had often heard
him speak in Ireland and liked his eiumest but simple manner ;
but New York seemed to have inspired him, for he spoke
with enthusiasm, modestly giving all meiit to Uie praiseworthy
cause he is engaged in.
There is so much variety of face and manner to be .met with
on an American railway, that I always find excursions pleasant
One to Fordham was my last in America. Here we met an
Irish clergyman, a very taleiited superior man, wbos<^ zeal in
the arduous duties of his mission is above all human praise.
In our rambles round the place^ he pointed our attention to
a wretched looking old mati, who was mowing in a little
pleasure ground. ^* There is something of the romance of life
about him," said he. ^^ He was one of Wellington's invincibles,
and fought with him through all the batdes of the Peninsula.**
I have fixed the 11th July for my departure, and I have
taken my passage in the Hibemia for Liverpool ; and as the
hour for bidding good-bye draws nearer, I fully feel how much I
value the picture of perfect home4iappiness I am leaining — not
for ever I heartily hope ; for . what are a few days on the
Atlantic to loving hearts r Great indeed has been my enjoyment,
and great my admiration of much I have seen, and greater still
the kindness I have experienced in this " Glimpse of America.**
In comparing the old and the new world, let us mutually view
the excellencies, rather than the faults, of each, and cordially
wish that, in our days at least, they may continue to be bound
together in peace and prosperity.
Digitized by
Google
280
CHANGED.*
1
Thej saj that the light of her ejes is gone.
That her voice is low, and her cheek is wan ;
That her looks are sad, and strange, and wild.
Yet meek as the looks of a sinless child.
2
For the melting glance of her soft bine eye
Is chilled by cold Insanity ;
And the beanty, that her light form wore,
Is the shrine of a living soul no more.
3
And her words discourse not music sent
From reason's govern^ instrument;
But borne by her troubled fancies, stray
Like notes of the harp which the wild winds play.
-4
1 would not look on her altered brow,
Nor her eye so dim and soulless now,
I would not view her pale, pale cheek.
Nor hear her, in her madness, speak, —
5
Nor see her smile, she knows not why,
While her tears flow down unmeaningly.
Nor her vacant gaze, the piteous token
Of a brain overwrought, and a young heart broken; —
6
No — on these things I would not look.
For the brightest ph in Fortune's book ;
For she was joined with the fairest things
That rose in my youth's imaginings.
7
And oh ! how oft have I turned away.
From a brighter eye, and a cheek more gay.
That my soul might drink to sweet excess.
The light of her pensive loveliness.
8
But her languid eye shall charm no more ;
Her smiles and her tears — ^they are nearly o'er ;
For fond hopes lost and a heart o'erladen
Have crush'd in her bloom, the guiltless maiden.
J.M.
• These beautiful lines were siyen in MS. yean ago to the Editor of the Catholic
lisgarine : he is not awaxe that they have ever been published.
Digitized by
Google
281
THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE,
{Cimiimud from page 230.)
CHAP YI.
The Ladj Ada Aginoourt was the youngest child of the
Marquis and Marchioness of Axminster.
Lady Ada was many years the junior of the youngest
daughter of the Marchioness, and approaching nearer Lord
Roland's age, was thrown more into her brother's society than
into that of any of the female portion of her family.
The result of this was a similarity of studies, a similarity of
dispositions, and a strong love between the brother and sister.
With Lord Roland, Ada travelled through the vast field of
antiquarian lore which her brother spread out ; with him, too,
she pored over illegible manuscripts and rough antique brasses ;
with him she bent over the pages of Froissart, Chaucer, Bacon
(the Friar), and the blacke lettere writers of the early times;
and like him, also, she had great admiration for all that told of
the ancient and, spite of their bloody doings, the happy times.
But while Lord Roland attached himself to the rude and
vulgar antique fashions ; while he strenuously supported morris
dancing, bull baiting, and majrpole dancing; nay, while he
advocated quarter staff and tournaments, his sister's love Was
fixed on the quietude of the ancient history, on the holiness
and sanctity of the times, on the good the Church in other
days performed, on the power she possessed, on the benefit
society derived from the existence of monastic establishments.
Lord Roland admired the monasteries, but not the monks.
In short, he liked every thing connected with Rome but Rome
itself; admired the authority exercised by the Church, but
denied her authority ; and, as we have before mentioned, was
inconsistent in almost every thing.
They had been, the brodier and sister, working one morning
upon some charter of a very early date, deciphering its rough
seal and commenting with learned criticism on its varied
spelling, when, Roland enunciating some opinion as inconsis-
tent as usual,
^^I cannot understand you, Roland," said Ada; ^^you admit
and deny in the same breath ; admire and despise the same
thing ; work hard to prove, and reject all the proof you discover.
How very silly ! "
Digitized by
Google
282 THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE.
'^Silly, Ada? How can I refrain from admiring the monas-
teries as they were established ? Have we not proof, ample,
unanswerable, undeniable proof, tiiat the monks were really
the poor man's best friend r They nourished him, succoured
him. If he could labour, tfiey found work for him ; if he
could not, they gave him alms. Nay more, they gave him
spiritual assistance, thus supporting soul and body. When
I see such a system, whereby the corrupt and dissolute were
alone sacrificed, can I refrain from expressing admiration of
the system?"
'* No ; but you object, you just told me, to monks a:s religious
bodies.*'
** As religious bodies — yes."
^^ But yet you admire monastic institutions. Well, Roland,
I cannot understand the difference."
^^ Ada, have you not heard me express my admiration of the
acts of the early Church ? Yet I rank not among its members."
** But you have told me if the early Church and the primitive
Church — and by early, Roland, I mean the Church of the tenth
century — could be proved to be one and the same, you would
admit all its claims."
'^ Yes, I have said so ; but it can never be so proven, Ada."
^* Pardon me, Roland, I think it can.^'
"Ada!"
" I have been reading about the early Church history lately,
partly from what you said and partly from what the Bishop
of D told Papa. I find the primitive Church, or rather
the Church of the primitive Christians, almost identical with
the Church of the tenth and fifteenth centuries ; of course,
Rolftmd, without its splendour or its power, but still the self
same Church."
Lord Roland seemed astonished, and, to the surprise of his
«ister, left his employment and said he should go out for a
^alk. That evening he had a long consultation with the
Marchioness, and the next morning the Marchioness with her
daughter. In that intei*view the fond parent found that Lord
Roland's instructions had taken deeper root in the Lady Ada's
breast than the instructor had desired. That while he had
prated of baronial tournaments. Papal bulls, and Jacquerie
tebellions, his sister had considered attentively the devotion of
the period, and bad made some way in meditation as to ^ which
was the primitive Church," which " the true bne," which was
Christ's Church.
Botii the Marquis and Marchioness were kind and loving
parents. They did not rave and rage at their daughter, nor
Digitized by
Google
THE HOCK AND THE MOTIVE, 28S
utter threats of vengeance if she did not tenounce her notions ;
but tbej attempted to reason with her, pressed upon her notice
the easiness of the Established Church, the figure she would
hereafter make iu society, and the hnpropriety in any one of
her rank changing their faith and so preventing a suitable
alliance. Lady Ada listened to all these politic remonstrances
without at all relinquishing her opinions, although she had no
E resent intention, as she informed her noble parents, of changing
er faith ; indeed, she had not yet considered or meditated on
the change, but had merely given utterance to her own thoughts
as to her brother's want of consistency.
With this avowal, her parents were perfectly satisfied, but
Lady Ada was no longer the companion of her brother. Lord
Roland's studio, that '^ den of antique horrors," as it was styled^
was fast closed against her, and no allusion was ever made in
her presence to early literature, or anything connected with
the ages gone by; and, as an extra caution, Lord Roland
after a short time removed himself and his collection to private
apartments.
These very measures, the restraint^ that all seemed to labour
under in her presence, and the remarkable oare with which
conversation was managed, set Lady Ada to meditate upon
that very subject that horrified her family. This is often the
case. Had Lord. Roland not told his mother, had the
Marchioness of Axminster not cautioned her daughter, in all
probability Lady Ada would never have inquired deeper into
the acts of the Church. It was only when she was entreated
not to seek for knowledge on the subject, virhen she was told
the path to which it was presumed her opinions led^ (hat she
determined on seriously seeking that path and satisfying herself
if her parent's anxiety of mind was founded on real fears, or on
fancied improbabilities.
The Marchioness of Axminster, while with her daughter,
kept a strict watch upon her movements, and it was therefore
with no small disappointment that she one day found Mr.
Berrington and Captain Harcourt in her son's apartments
when, in company with her daughter, she called on him. To
make matters worse, Harcourt was an old acquaintance of
hers, had spent some time with the family in the country, and
had always been highly esteemed both by the Marquis and
Marchioness. Her ladyship was thus prevented firom beating
an immediate retreat, and Harcourt, claiming the privilege of a
friend, introduced his brother-in-law to both of the ladies, and
they were all speedily engaged in an animating conversation.
Lord Roland had too much tact easily to let the discourse
Digitized by
Google
284 THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE.
pass to the forbidden subject, but it required more than his
Lordship's earnest endeavours to prevent Villars every now
and then obtruding a sentence which Lord Roland knew would
lead to the proscribed subject. Whether YiUars had heard
of Lady Ada's fancies, and through a love of mischief wished
to bring on the subject, or whether he only spoke at random,
no one knew ; but he was particularly zealous in trying to
introduce the subject ; and beaten by Lord Roland from one
point and turned by the dexterous tongue of the Marchioness
from another, he still ran from one subject to another with
unwonted agility. Church architecture, lights, copes, ancient
pixes, recent secessions, oaths in Parliament, sermons, decisions,
charges of archdeacons, travels, all were touched upon by him
and replied to as speedily as possible by mother and son.
Meanwhile Harcourt had been describing a tour he had
made through the Lakes to Lady Ada; and Berrington, listening
to Arthur's tale and Lady Ada's remarks, heard little or nothing
of the conversation YiUars endeavoured to introduce.
"Apropos to your travelling, Mr. Harcourt — " said Lady
Ada.
" Captain Harcourt, Ada," interrupted her brother.
"A thousand pardons. Captain Harcourt; but, apropos to
your excursion, how is it that we in Belgrave Square have not
been honoured with cards 7 "
" Ada ! " said the Marchioness reprovingly.
" You know, mama, I said if ever I met Mr. — no, Captain —
I beg his pardon again — I should put the question to him.
Remember I met Mrs. Harcourt at Lady Thornton's, and
may, as a friend of both of you, demand an explanation."
"An explanation is easily given," said Yillars. "Captain
Harcourt and his lady declined the acquaintance of the Lady
Ada Agincourt."
" And of mama too ?" said Lady Ada.
" Captain Harcourt ought to have considered us," remarked
the Marchioness. " But I do not see how we can reprove him."
"I will tell your ladyship how you can, pardon me: — ^by
honouring me with a visit at Putney. I told Roland, who
knew all and everything, my reasons. Our weddings, you
know, are not so fiill of state and ceremony as yours are ; and
your ladyship must pardon me for neglecting you when I
assure you I issued no cards at all."
" Gothic wedding!" pouted Lady Ada.
" Well, I confess the custom is an odious one," said Lord
Roland. " If ever I'm married—"
"A very unlikely thing," remarked Yillars.
Digitized by
Google
THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE. 285
"Very indeed,'* said Berrington; "for the chances would
be that at the altar Lord Roland woald — change his mind.'*
There was some laughter at this, and after a little more con-
versation the gentlemen took their leave.
Now it so happened that Frank Berrington bad listened atten-
tively to all that had fallen from Lady Ada's lips, had marked and
noted every look, and in short, was "captivated" by her lady-
ship. It was not exactly love at first sight, but it was the sort
of something, the precursor of love, that had entered his heart
and made Frank think the possession of the pretty Lady Ada
was something to be wished for.
Of course with such a desire Berrington soon found means
tp visit Belgrave Square. Lord Roland introduced Frank to
the Marquis. By a strange coincidence, which, however, in
life oftimes occur, the Marquis had been in coiTespondence
with Mr. Berrington's father respecting a small property which
the Marquis wished to get rid of, and of which Mr. Berrington
was disposed to become the purchaser. There was a slight
difference about price, and the noble was rather more close in
his dealing than the commoner would have imagined; but
Frank, learning all this, wrote a judicious and an affectionate
letter to his mama, who upon its receipt persuaded Mr.
Berrington to accede to the Marquis's demands, which was
accordingly done, solely, as Messrs. Bobb and Bulberry, the
Marquis's solicitors, informed their patron, through the inter-
vention of Mr. Francis Berrington.
The peer, of course, was all gratitude, the expression of
which cost him nothing, and Frank Berrington became a
welcome visitor in Belgrave Square.
To be there, to be with Lady Ada, and not to go deeper
into the mysteries of love was impossible ; so Frank gave way
to his heart and became Lady Ada's " devoted slave." In this
capacity, he performed all those acts "devoted slaves" perform;
turned over her music when she played, wrote in her album,
brought her flowers, held her shawl at the opera, walked and
rode with her, began to scribble sonnets in her praise, and to
practise duets which they sang together. When they had got
8o far in their new friendship, other matters came on the tapis,
and Frank found that, where he expected a difficulty the
ground was almost cleared for him. Lady Ada paid more
attention to him because he was a convert to the Church, and
because, as she argued, he knew both sides of the question,
and was perfectly aware of the objections made by Protestants.
She found from Berrington, too, that the Church of Rome —
Christ's Church — was not that life of indolence and luxury
that so many persons proclaim it. That there were days and
VOL. XI. X
Digitized by
Google
280 THE HOUB AND THE MOTIVE.
weeks of mortification when its followers suffered much, but
these sufferings were as nothing compared to what for man
Christ suffered ; and readily did she believe that to rest with
Him who for us had done so much, something must indeed be
done.
The mere feet of going from eleven to one once in the
week to church ; thinking for six days little or nothing of the
soul, and on the seventh devoting but two hours to one's God,
was in her opinion, as it should be in that of every one, but
a poor way of returning that love which our Saviour bore to
us. And when she had listened to Frank's explanation on
various subjects, and to his replies to the various questions
she had put to him, she could not help expressing her belief
in all that he believed.
Her earlier studies with her brother had impressed her with
a reverence for many of the most difficult things for Protestants
to believe, and her researches into the decrees and doctrine
of the Church had, before she met with Mr. Berrington, almost
confii*med her in the true belief. Frank stepped in at a critical
period and settled all doubt.
It may be said, what were the parents of the young lady
about all this time ?
Like wise people, they saw through the affair and resolved
to let things take their course. It was clear to them that Ada
held these opinions ^ it was equally clear that, despite of their
persuasion, she held them more firmly than ever. It was also
certain that, having made such progress, it was next to an
impossibility to eradicate them from her mind. The Marquis
had spoken to his chaplain on the subject, but, to his horror,
he foHn4 the good man almost inclined to follow his daughter.
He also spoke to his old friend the Bishop of D , but that
learned prelate decliiied to interfere, on the ground that it
would be of no use ; and under these circumstances, and con-
sidering it next to an impossibility to remove her notions or
to marry the young lady while holding them, her parents had
taken the prudent view of the case, and made up their minds
to accept Frank Berrington as their son-in-law. It was after
oil no such bad match ; indeed^ barring the want of a title, it
was rather an eligible one, Mr. Berrington, senior, was a rich
man, Frank was his only son, money was plentiful, and Frank's
knowledge and accomplishments, appearance and disposition,
were all that could be desired. So the vrise parents left every
thing to fate.
Of course, unchecked as Frank was, a declaration to the
young lady came in due course ; and, as might be expected,
was by the Lady Ada received, with the usual important stipu-
Digitized by
Google
THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE. 887
lations ; and here Berrington was agreeably disappointed, for
where he expected at least some slight opposition, the utmost
approval was obtained, and within a very short time Francis
Berrisfgton became the affianced huftbatad of Lady Ada Agiikcouit.
Of course Frank had to endure hia mother's and his sister's
raillery; there was a great deal to be said about his early
fancy, Miss Taunton, and a great deal to be said about his
noble relatives ; but this he cored little or nothing about ; he
was too happy to care about these trifles. Moreover, the
ridicule sprang ^ot from the heart, and ^'Up ridieule'' is for-
gotten as soon as. made. "
It was determined that Lady Ada Agineourt^s entrancfe into
the Catholic Chweb should b^ OGusde prior to her m^arrialge, and
in the same quiet and unobtruaiTe way tiia^ Berrington's hiad
been. Her parents strove hard. to. pefiAiaide her to pjDstpone
ber entary until after maniage> fer ,i;he eerelnoDy was pain&l i^
them, and they wished it to be delayed until thov latest possible
moment. But here Lady Ada was firm. . > titer teoeption should
take place first, and as Frank rather wished this, the Marquis
and his lady at last gave way,\.
Lord Roland was exti>emiely. annoyed .at tibe mlatch.^ He
belonged tp one or two of .the ultra Protesttol bodies,, whose
Bpeeohes every now and thwi^il ih& :6ohunns. of the McMing.
ikmld. In the first place he Mt.ft^tl^oidd be'injuredmthe
estimation of the losembers .of. iiiQse.spGiieti0s,.<ana his ufiwd
ind^ision abd love of halting 2^ the rthreshdd cto^edhim stiH
more to reg^t the mattery hut:th« afiair .was Jiettibed. }H«t
i^l^eiptions were now uselei^s^ and jaU hi could .d:Q. was to make
% No P3pej7 speech at: Exe|et:Hfidl:<>f so toeeptablen^^
viruieqt and scurrilous) a ohatiaotfiiv t&a/t lud entiilely rej^iiDed
Ihe tj8^a9^is of his religicius brethrt^i «
Villare was particulaily ba^py on the subject^ tad reviewixig
Lord Roland's speedi, proved that Ihe opilnobs hidd by his
lordship were those eiitertliiiifed by tdlgifbed n^lemen whosiS
sisters married CathoHes wi^ut their :^ennssaion^: and. ih^
had his lordship's sifitet espoused; undter similar cArcumstaiices
a Protestant, the only course left lor Liord Bdhnd would hav'd
been to .have entered the Catholic Church himseM .
It was ahap^y hit at his lordshit)*s ineoosistency^and tihe
reviewer sent the reviewed a copy wdth his 'eomplinientsu' -.1
And during .tiiis time. Cyril Derringtoh !^as watlderiilg aii
outcast from his native land^ almost forgotten by all wlio kne^
him here.
f To be concluded in (mrnexL J
X 2
Digitized by
Google
388
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF STAINED GLASS IN
ENGLAND.
There is no reflection more likely to incite in the mind of a
Catholic, a virtuous pride and exalted reverence for the One
Church, than that which arises from a contemplation of the
works of ecclesiastical antiquity. Few things are more gratifying
to the feelings of a zealous member of that religion, than the
knowledge that of all the creeds which schism and heresy have
disseminated throughout the world, not one, if despoiled of
its professed belief, possesses one symbolical reminiscence by
which the sacredness of its doctrines may be recorded, — not one
but if traced to its originator, is found to arise from the am-
bition and cupidity of man, or from the misguided judgment of
some deluded fanatic. To an English Catholic, more especially,
though compelled to see the proudest works of his ancestors,
and the most glorious temples of his divine religion, in the bands
of those who have no kindred to his faith, to study and ponder
over the classic beauty revealed in their elaborate designs, to
wander amid the solemn ruins of those once stupendous edifices,
to recall to the memory the days when that Church was not a
Sersecuted, hated name, but a god-like impersonation of her
octrines, according peace and joy to her faithful children, and
thundering her denunciations to her enemies — such a study
must inspire awe and enthusiasm, which while shaded by
many melancholy reflections, will tend to increase his adora-
tion to that God whose omniscience is inscrutable, to etherealize
his devotion to all appertaining to his faith, and in the strength
of his conviction and the zeal of admiration, to show indulgence
to the prejudices of others, — charity and amiability to all ; that
the dawn of Catholicity wluch has tinted the religious horizon of
our happy Island, may be fanned into glorious sunshine, and
ultimately reign again in the zenith of her eflulgence. We be-
lieve that the majority of our Catholic readers have been ren-
dered familiar with the remnants of Catholic architecture, from
the works of some of our talented Churchmen; but as every
Catholic must wish to difiuse throughout all classes, a spirit of
admiration for the One Faith, whose beauties are displayed no
less in the Gothic columns and cancellated roofs of her Cathe-
drals, than in the sublime and awe-striking mysteries of her doc-
Digitized by
Google
HISTOBICAL SKETCH OF STAINED GLASS IN ENGLAND. 289
trines, a faint outline of the history of the ^^ storied window,^*
which constitutes so prominent a feature in our ancient Churches^
will piomote that object, and afford pleasure to those who have
not had any opportunity of perusing more lengthened disserta-
tions. It is difficult to ascertain with any degree of cer-
tainty the exact period of the introduction of stained glass into
England ; but from the early specimens of the art which are
still extant, and from the records of some of the old chronicles,
it may be assumed that it first became generally known towards
the middle of the thirteenth century. The greater portion how-
ever of that which exists in our Churches previous to the reign
of Henry IV., was imported from the Continent, as for instance,
the windows of the Exeter and Salisbury Cathedrals, the greater
part of which came from Rouen.
Among the earliest productions of our native artists still
remaining from the wreck of art that was splendid during the
Reformation, we may mention portraits of the founders and
benefactors of the Church, most frequently met with in edifices
possessed of no other attraction in.point of architectural design,
by which they escaped destruction ; likewise imaginary likenesses
of the Edwards and Henrys to be recognised by the forked
beards and hair resembling that which characterises their coins,
but presented in a hundred varied countenances bearing not
the least resemblance to each other, and rude and harsh in both
design and execution. Little improvement is observable until
the production of that most beautifrd painting in the eastern
window of York Minster, which in brilliancy of colour and
delicacy of design, affords proof of the genius which occasionally
enlightened the world even in those rude times, and immortalised
an otherwise obscure name. The artist was Thompson of
Coventry, and the execution of the work dates as far back as
the year 1 390. The rise of the art encouraged by the clergy,
but more especially the monasteries, subsequently became more
decided, and though its progress could not compete with
the rapidity of modem days, great exertions and indefatigable
perseverance were not spared to render the subjects as perfect
as their limited knowledge in the art would allow. The result
of this liberal encouragement has been presented to us in the
stained glass in the Church at Fairford, in Gloucestershire,
erected by the munificent piety of one individual in the year
1492. In it are twenty-five windows all highly enriched with
this most beautiful art, the sole production of native talent i and
among the subjects possessed of greater merit are those of the
Salutation of the Blessed Virgin, in the north aisle, the Entry
into Jerusalem, and the Last Day, which are in a state of
excellent preservation, and constitute the east and west windows.
Digitized by
Google
290 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF STAINED GLASS IN ENGLAND.
In this edifice we discoyer the finest known specimens of the
ancient art, either at home or abroad ; and had it not been for
iihe prudent foresight eyinced by the adherents of the old religion
when the Reformation broke otit, this magnificent specimen
would have shared the same fate as did others equally splendid.
The extraordinary depth and richness of the colours, the
gorgeous etfect of the Crimson vSelvet and gilding, which are so
tastefully arranged, and the delicacy and brilliancy of the
drapery in the minuter figures, added to the quaint conceits of
G'othic imagination with which the subject abounds, render it a
matter of astonishment, as much as of admiration, that at so
remote a period the art should have reached to so eminent a
degree of refinement ; the only requisite being the modem
method of amalgamating the colours, and a less rigid adherence
to the Florentine school of painting, to render it unsurpassed
by any modem prodiiction.
This appe^ris to be the last woA of any note, which may
fairly lay claim to be the design of the artists of the old school :
the Reformation breakitig out shortly after its completion, the
art was effectually dt>omed to obscurity. The monasteries
which had been, hiliheito, tJie schools where science and the
refined arts had alone found liberal patrons and zealous encou-
ragement, more particulJa-rly one which constituted so beautiful
an embellishment to their Churches, were the first to experience
the shock of the coming storm ; for ignorance is ever found to
stigmatise w;hat surpasses its comprehension, as pregnant with
evil or akin to legerdemain. With the pillage of the Convents
and demolition in the Churches of all thatbpre the faintest resem-
blance to the old religion, those splendid windows which would
b^ve recorded the progress of the art to all ages, and become
gems of ecclesiasticflll antiquity, were fractured in a thousand
pieces and strewn over the deserted aisles. The faithful, panic-
stricken with horror, ^were too much occupied in the preservation
of their own lives to sav6 the Church ornaments; then ensued
the wreck of art. *^The stage was darkened ere the curtain
fdl,'* and with the extinction of religious magnificence and the
lights of the refined arts. Catholicity almost ceased to exist in
the Island.
■ in the age which immediately succeeded, well denominated
the age of Cant, all that was refined and artistic became in the
eyes of the Reformers incense offered to Satan; and in a religion
wbosie spirit was a blasphemous application of scripture, and
whose outward form bore no greater evidence of sanctity than
that which a demure countenance and a hypocritical tongue
afforded, it may easily be supposed that it was the most uncon-
genial period the arts ever endured since their introduction into
Digitized by
Google
HISTOBICAL SKETCH OF STAINED GLASS IN ENGLAND. 291
England. But the cord of fanatical hatred for the internal
splendour of Churches, had suffered a tension beyond the natural
inclination of even the Puritans to endure, and it gradually
relaxed into a desire to see those magnificent structures restored
to their pristine beauty, and decorated with an ornament so con-
genial to their architectural order. The coarse and illiterate
minds of the Puritans were, however, but ill adapted to execute
a task which required great ingenuity, and an equal degree of
artistic skill, in order to replace the fractured pieces in conformity
to the subject they represented ; and disgusted with a work so
little according to their taste, they finished it much as the^^r had
begun — in haste — fitting the pieces together as came the readiest
to hand, wholly destitute of arrangement, and presenting their
handiwork to uie admiring gaze of their employers, bearing a
stronger resemblance to a patchwork quilt, than to the choice
design of a stained glass window. The chronological history of
our art firom this period, though not absolutely broken, be6t)tne8
BO feint that it may be conjectured it lay dormant until the
middle of the reign of Elizabeth, when it is again in the ascen-
dant. The encouragement which this princess afforded to
literature and the development of the arts, though trammelled
by her persecution of Catholicity, the increased intercourse with
foreign countries, more especially the Netheriattds, gave rise to
a new era of stained glass, which takes its date from the seven-
teenth century. The rudeness and irregularity' of design which
had prevailed to a great degree among the earlier artists, gave
way to a more accurate taste and bolder display of the applianceis
of the art, first observable in the well executed portraits Usually
decorating the bay windows of edifices in the Elizabethan style
of architecture, and afterwards extended to complete scriptural
illustrations in the private Chapels of the nobility. The public
Churches still retained the grotesque formations produced by
the repairs of the Reformers, and so tenacious was Elizabeth of
any encouragement the old religion might have received fix)m an
open adoption of this ancient decoration, that tiothing could
induce her to sanction their renovation, though a professed
patron of the art. Bernard Van Linge, an Eiiglishman of Flemish
extraction, who lived about the year 1615, was the first celebrated
artist of the new school in painting upon glass; but his life was
too short to carry out the great design of perfecting the English
in this study. The civil wars of Charles I. again brought ruin
and destruction upon this fragile subject; the brutal rage of
Cromwell's soldiery, whose hatred to stained windows was
insatiable, completing the wreck of whatever may have been
saved firom the sacrilegious hands of the early Reformers, with
but very few exceptions.
Digitized by
Google
202 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF STAINED GLASS IN ENGLAND.
After the Restoration, the history of painted glass takes its
place among that of the refined arts, never to be again despoiled
by the fanaticism of religious contentions or the broils of a civil
commotion. The mutilated windows of the Churches were
directed to be repaired, but again those who were employed were
found sadly incompetent to produce any originality in the works,
and the whole has of latter years been taken down and restored
under the eye and direction of connoisseurs. The first school
which was established after the Restoration, was at York, under
Henry Gyles, which gained high reputation for its productions,
and ultimately gave to the kingdom those admirable artists
William and Joshua Price. The former has acquired immortal
fame by his great work, the Nativity, after Thomhill, at Christ
Church, which he completed in 1696. The latter by his not less
successful reparation of the windows of Queen^s College, which
the Puritans had nearly annihilated.
To William Price, the son of the first-mentioned artist, we
are indebted for the beautiful windows in Westminster Abbey,
he having been employed by parliament to decorate this ancient
structure in 1722; likewise for his elaborate designs of Mosaic.
In more modem times, the original style of staining or painting
upon glass has been completely abandoned, and has given place
to a more finished invention, better adapted to the refined taste
of the age. The hard outline which characterises the Florentine
and Flemish schools, the harsh and disfiguring efiect caused by
the necessity of suiTounding the various colours in a figure with
lead, which constitutes the greatest deficiency of the old artist,
have given way to the unrivalled contour of a Michael Angelo,
the glorious colouring of a Reubens, with that delicacy of design
and finish in the execution, so remarkable in the works of Van
Linge, the Prices, and still more superlative performances of
Jarvis.
The most illustrious of modem artists are Forrest and
Eginton, the former a pupil of the celebrated Jarvis, and the
designer of some of the finest works in St. George's Chapel,
Windsor. Eginton, of Handsvvorth, has long since been
renowned for some of the most exquisite productions of this most
exquisite art. His excellence it is unnecessary to expatiate upon,
and his industry is sufficiently recorded by the existence of fifty
considerable works by his hand.
Before concluding this paper, we would express a hope that
the faint outline we have endeavoured to sketch of the rise and
progress of an art in our native land, deserving as much our
admiration as a refined and splendid study as from its close
alliance with that religion which possesses such a paramount
Digitized by
Google
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF STAINBD GtASS IN ENOLAND. 293
interest in the heart of every Catholic, will be an inducement
to our readers to encourage its development, and rival the liberal
piety of former days in decorating our churches with it. We
could mention several beautiful edifices that have lately arisen
in this once ^^ Isle of Saints/' which, though perfect in point of
architectural design, are wanting in that solemn richness within,
diffused by the light from a stained glass window. Each week
records some fresh proselyte received into the bosom
" ■ of that most faithful lady,
Forsaken, woeful, solitary maid,"
and as their numbers increase, so ought the religious fervour of
those whose proud privilege it has been to claim her faith from
inheritance, diat the world may see that the spirit of Catholicity
pure and undefiled, is again spreading her wings of peace and
joy over this favoured Island : and that her children are animated
by the same spirit of reverence and devotion which beat in
the bosom of her Crusaders, or spoke in the tears of her
martyrs.
Digitized by
Google
294
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
SIB WILLIAM DRUMMOND. — SIR WILLIAM OELL. — BISHOP RAINES.
A CERTAIN joumaliBt who, as a Catholic, considers himself
licensed to spit forth the venom which, as a Quaker, he was
compelled to contain within himself — one who, since he joined
us, has at different times, by slander, misrepresentation, and
eqiuvocation, endeavoured to divide and nile both clergy and
people — complains, of these " Recollections," that they only
record the doings of "good society." I admit the truth of the
charge ; but I know not how to avoid the fault, if fault it be ; since
those with whom I associated happened to be in the class of
gentlemen. I can only promise my accuser that, if ever he
himself should become eminent, and if ever (which heaven avert !)
I should have personal intercourse with him — I will record his
own sayings and doings as a counterbalance or contrast to those
of the class to which he objects.
At the time when, after three years' quiet occupation of
Naples, the Austrians still kept loaded cannon pointed down
the great street of Toledo, I sauntered into the Villa Reale, that
beautiful garden that fringes the waters of the bay and lies
between them and the row of houses on the far-famed Chiaja.
I will not tarry to describe that lovely scenery : — the smooth
waters rippling on the pebbly beach; Monte Posilipo, with
Virgil's Tomb, on the right hand ; the Castle dell' novo jutting
out on the left, before Vesuvius and the mountain ridge of
Sorrento ; nor the rocky island of Caprea in front, still changing
its colour and, apparently, its form with every change in that
brilliant atmosphere. I will not tarry to revel once more in
the delights of this ^^ pezzo del ciel caduto in terra — piece of
heaven dropt upon earth," as the Neapolitans call it ; but will
wend my way back from the jetty, past the marble group of the
Toro Famese and the beds of sweet-smelling double violets,
into the broad avenue that runs from one to the other end of the
gardens. There I sauntered anxiously about, looking for her
who first taught my young boyish heart " i palpiti d'amor," or
what, in its inexperience, it then mistook for them. Soon I
descried her and her widowed aunt, Mrs. Shedden, coming up
from the western entrance of the gardens ; and hastened to meet
that beautiful figure and face that smiled a joyous and half-
Digitized by
Google
BECOLtECTlONS OF EMINENT MEN. 295
tender welcome. How English thou wert in the fashion of thy
dress, my gentle Helen Stuart ! and yet how well that little
black velvet spencer, and that brown silk veil, and those dark
brown ringlets (so strange in that foreign land), how well they
set off thy symmetrical figure, and those fresh and delicate
features ! Seldom, indeed, did a Neapolitan pass us who did
not turn back to cast another glance at thee, while he enthusi-
astically exclaimed "quant '6 bella!'* My gratified eyes and
ears marked it all ; and fearing no rival, regoiced in the triumpb
of the little Scotch girl. She was then about seventeen — a year
younger than me.
A handsome chariot drawn by four splendid horses, driven
by the very small boys whom it was then the fashion to employ
as postilions, stopped at the side gate of the villa. Two pow-
dered footmen sprang down from their standing place and
opened the door. A short dark man of about thirty, helped out
a plain little old woman, very richly dressed and highly rouged.
This was Lady, wife of Sir William Drummond, and her nephew
Mr. Stewart (no relation to my young flame), who afterwards
became a Catholic, a priest, and was, I believe, murdered while
bathing in the Adriatic. They came into the centre walk of the
garden, where we joined them ; and we all chatted gaily as we
walked up and down at a brisker pace.
Soon another chariot drawn by four horses like the first, and
attended by the same number of servants in the same livery,
pulled up at the same gate : and a gentleman, its only occupant^
got out of it and came into the Villa Reale. He was a tall, thin
man of about sixty -five years of age. He was wrapped in a
scanty English great-coat. He wore rather a broad brimmed
hat ; and vrith his hands behind him and his head rather bent
on his chest, as if his thoughts were far away, walked' briskly
forward as to take needfril exercise before he should hurry back
to studies on which his mind was still engaged. He was about
to pass us without seeing us, when a hesitating movement of
our party towards him attracted hb attention, and he crossed
to our side of the avenue.
** How do you do to-day. Sir William ! " exclaimed Lady
Drummond : and he replied to his wife's greeting in the same
tone of friendly indifference, showing plainly that they had not
met since the preceding day.
He took one turn with us, joining only occasionally in our
chat ; and then, complaining of the cold, returned to his car-
riage. As he turned away he said to me,
^^ If you are not engaged, will you come and play at chess
this evening ? It is likely to be a wet night ; but I will seud
the carriage for you.'*
Digitized by
Google
296 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
Shortly afterwards, the little son of Mrs. Shedden (a fine boy
of six years old, who had run alongside us in Highland costume,
Scotch cap, and with a large tin sword dangling at his side)
asked to go home ; and parting from Lady Drummond and her
nephew, I escorted my Helen and her aunt across the street to
their own house on the Chiaja.
In the evening, the rain came down, as it does at Naples :
" cats and dogs " would have been nothing to it. Sir William
Drummond's carriage came for me about eight o'clock. The
apartment I had was also on the Chiaja, only a few hundred
yards from his own house ; but it certainly would not have been
pleasant to walk even that distance through the mud of the street.
There was no cabriolet stand near : and, moreover. Sir William
always seemed to have something of a malicious pleasure in
sending out his carriage and servants with me in the rain,
justifying himself by saying that ^^ It would do them good ; that
they had nothing else to do." The house he occupied now was
in the centre of the Chiaja, overlooking the gardens and the
bay : an excellent hotel. In the Porte Cochere, stood always a
burlv porter in livery, leaning upon a long stout cane, the gold
head of which was as large as the skull of an infant, and excited
the wonder and admiration of all Naples.
Lady Drummond was seated in the drawing-room on one side
of the fireplace, at an ecarte table, around which sat or played
Mr. Stewart, a certain Dr. Quin, (an English physician without
practice, who made himself very entertaining by laughing at
every thing and every body, and at himself more than all the
rest), and two or three other gentlemen. Her ladyship sat aj, the
table with a pile of about a dozen piastres at her side, which
bad been carefully washed and polished for her handling. One
piastre was her constant stake. At the other side of the fire,
was a table with chessmen set out upon it. Sir William himself
was walking up and down the room absorbed in thought, or, as
he called it himself, in " a brown study :" but he dismissed it
cheerfully when he saw me, and began conversing on the subject
of his meditation.
He had lately published his '^ Origines," a most interesting
work on the origin of Eastern Empires ; and was much engaged
in considering the opinions of reviewers, and in going over
again the ground of his own convictions. His work entitled
^' Academical Questions " had before roused the orthodoxy of
England against him ; and although the ^^Origines" was more
moderate, it certainly contained evidence of the " free-thinking"
of its writer. In fact, the opinions of Sir William Drummond
were sufficiently well known as those of a philosphe who would
base his disbelief of Revelation and his own system upon the
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 297
Holy Scripture itself: — and I see not how those who admit the
right of private judgment could object to his will to do so. But
he was like all unbelievers favourably inclined towards the
Catholic faith— if any was to be admitted. There was then
living at Naples an Abb6 Campbell, whose burly figure and large
head covered with close-cropped red hair I well remember. All
the English in Naples believed him to be employed by the local
government to open their letters in the post-oflSce, and to report
their contents to the Neapolitan authorities. He was not one of
our evening ^carte and chess parties ; but I often met him at
small dinner parties at Sir William Drummond's. We were
walking in to one of these when he said to me, turning round
to our host, " Oh, Sir William is very often inclined to become
a Catholic, whenever he is unwell. It is the old saying —
' When the devil was sick, the devil a monk would be,
But when the devil got well, the devil a monk was he.*"
** Nay," replied Sir William, ^ I only listen to your preach-
ments, and admit that you have as much or more to say for
yourselves than any one else."
** But, unfortunately," I observed, with the petulant forwardness
of a lad, ** unfortunately, Sir William, you cannot believe in any
Christian system."
" Nay ; why should you say that ?" he rejoined, rather moved :
*^ I am sure that I have never given any one a right to assert
that I was not orthodox."
^^ In the name of reason," exclaimed one, interposing between
us, *^ let us not be afraid of church-and-statery here ! At this
distance from the incubus, surely an Englishman may venture
to avow his opinions, whatever they may be."
He was pacified, and we went on to the dining-room.
But I must return to the evening to which I have before
alluded. Our conversation was soon silenced at the chess-table.
Sir William Drummond was a fair player, — a third-rate player ;
which is a high rank at chess. But I was in practice then, and
I generally beat him. I did so on this occasion. His head
seemed to be indefatigable ; at least, it was never tired at chess,
though he played rather slow and studied every move. He
began setting the men again, and asked for his revenge. I told
him that I must rest awhile, and another took my place at the
chess-table while I went and chatted with the ^carte party. Half
an hour afterwards. Sir William, who had beaten my successor,
and was, therefore, like every successful chess-player, rather
elated, called to me again. He had set the men and we began.
Again I won the game.
Digitized by
Google
$98 KBOOLLEOTIOKS OF EMINENT MSN.
V Lady Dfummoiid^^ be exclaimed, in a tone of some litde
yexatioQy ^ why is not Miss Stuart here to-night ? I can never
win a.game of Mr. ► unless she is here. I wish you would
always ask her and her aunt."
A^er that, the then queen of my afie^tions wajs a more constant
vkfitQr at these ereniag )>arties ; and two or three times a week,
Sir WtlVasi got the better of me at chess. But pleasant as
were those little iiocial reunic»;is, and pleasant as were the dinn^
parties at this hou$e, where I met all that was most distinguished
amongst the nativl^s or the travelling English, Lady Druramond
waA celebrated to the Neapolitan world at large for the magnifi-
eence of her balls, which collected all the 61ite of the society of
the place. At theise, some of the royal family were generally
, present; for as Sir William Drummond had been ambassador of
England to the King of Naples during his exile in Sicily, he
was still looked upon as an old friend and member of the corps
diplomatique. And yet he told me that he had more than once
been in temporary disgrace for refusing to participate in King
Ferdinand's all engrossitig passion for the chase.
" At my first visit to one of his countiy houses in Sicily,** he
said, ^^ all the court went to bed at ten o'clock. I could not go
to bed at ten; so I sat in my apartment reading till long
after midnight. At five o'clock on the following morning, in
rushed my valet with his Majesty following at his heels, ready
booted, and calling upon me to come out and shoot wild boars.
I was obliged to dress in a hurry, and, unshayed and almost
unwashed, to stand near him in a wood all day shooting black
pigs ] I took care to receive despatches from England in the
etenitg which recalled me to Palerma."
With a feeling of " Auld lang syne," the Duke of Salermo,
or the Duchess of Florida, or some other member of the royal
family, was often a guest at the Lady Dnimmond's balls. On
these occasions, my Helen being in the dancing-room, I need
.st^arcely say iihat I generally shirked the chess-board, which was
alwajrs set but in a quiet corner ; unless, indeed, some person
of eminence: was hovering neat whom my little vanity would like
to have a witness of the conflict and, as I hoped, of my triumph.
Thtis the Due de Blacas^ late Minister of Louis XVUL, came
often to sit beside \Ay and. told how he used to play, and of
the moves he made with '^ le roi, mon maitre — ^the king my
master."
Sir William Oell, also, the author of the topographical
inquiries into ancient Rome and Pompeii, would sometimes come
and sit near us. What a pleasant man I thought him ! He
used to attend our little social parties as well as these balls, and
always brought life and animation with him. And yet he was.
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 299
or said he was, generally iU of the gout, and used to drop into
an easy chair, and call upon some one cf the party to come and
sit by him, and say, ^^ quaiche cosa i^^'oiiiadu^-^sqiDe^ng^
pleasant*' to him. He used to complain of the sufferings his
gouty feet bad undergone when he was in attendwce on our
English Queen Caroline, and bad to stand for hours behind her
seat at the opera or elsewhere. He was a tall, square-built man
of about fifty-five years of age, with a handsome &ce, bushy
whiskers, and easy and most agreeable manners.
Sir William Gell saw more in Pompeii than any one else*
All antiquaries in the pursuit of their fayourite study are apt to
run after Edri Ochilltrea's ladle.* Pompeii, after all, was but a
small provincial town, although the beauty of its situatioi^ was
such as to induce wealthy Bomans to have villas near it. But
it must always have been considered a place of danger, as nearly
a century before the first recorded eruption, both Vetruvius and
Strabo mention Vesuvius as an extinct volcano, and the very
buildings themselves are composed of ancient lava. This fact
is as completely overlooked by our tourists and bookmakers as
was the buried town itself by the Norman and Spanish
sovereigns ; for it was never excavated until the reign of Murat
— ^although parts of it had always cropt out above the superin^
cumbent ashes.
Lady Drummond had always two bands of music at her bal^s :
a Neapolitan and a German band ; the latter for us waltzers. I
do not thuik that the Neapolitans considered tbeii^ military
music any compensation for the occupation of their country by
the Austrians: but it was veiy delightfiil: and although my
adored refused to waltz, (and I adored her the more for it), 1
myself loved to rush from the chess-table to the magic circle
and to spin round amid the square elbows of the white-jacketted
Austrian officers, or the more loose and degag^s ^l^ganU of Italj
or France, or the blundering automatons from England.
Across the supper-table at one of these balls (it was .on
Easter Sunday : English Protestants do not object to balls on
Sunday abroad J, across the supper-table at one of these ballS|
I saw Sir William Gell lean and address an elderly lady on the
opposite side of the table, whom we all knew to be as deaf as a
post He held in his hand a decanter of Madeira, and motioned
as though he would help her from it while he exclaimed^ ^^ Lady
Douglass, will you many me ?'*
*^ No, thank you,'* quietly replied the poor deaf (^ woman^
* See Scott's Anticpiary.
Digitized by
Google
300 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
quite innocent of the question addressed to her : ^^ No, thank
you. I would rather take champagne.**
Gould she have given a better answer ?
Sir William Drummond considered that he had a claim to be
Duke of Perth, and that the title was withheld from him on
account of his heterodox religious principles. It is well known
that all dukes are orthodox. English orthodoxy for English
dukes and Scotch orthodoxy for Scotch dukes. Church and
state knows no heterodoxy, excepting that which is not by law
established.
About this time the old King Ferdinand — the hero of the
'^ black pigs" — il nasone che ci dona maccaroni, as the Lazzari
say of him — died, amid the execration of his subjects. Sir
William Drummond, whose connexion with the court would not
allow him to join in the opinions uttered around, attempted to
justify him by the excuse always made in England for fools : —
**He was so very good natured!" Good nature is a poor
palliative for perfidy, cruelty, revenge, unwarranted despotism,
and the neglect of all the duties of a sovereign. However he
died ; and I saw him embalmed and lying in ^tate and buried,
after a grand procession to which the managers of it had
forgotten to invite the cleigy ! But I saw a more curious sight
still. I saw the coronation of his son Francis and of his Queen,
on the stage of the theatre of San Carlo. It was managed
thus : they all went in state to the Royal Box ; we, the audience,
were in court dresses : the actors sang a poem in honour of their
Majesties ; and then a curtain was drawn up and showed paste-
board figures of their said majesties and royal family, painted
in the exact resemblance of each one, sitting on thrones on the
stage, while actresses, personating the different towns of the
kingdom, knelt around and presented their homage and the keys
r,^ fii^ir gates. Then, from the heavens above, descended two
board angels, and held a vnreath of laurel over the head of
tainted sovereign ; while the audience applauded with
re and the King and Queen (the real ones) looked through
opera glasses from the box to see how their representatives
3 stage bore their blushing honours !
e gentle reader may be still more astonished when I inform
that all this ceremony was enacted because (since the
lest of the kingdom of Naples by the Normans) the country
Ben held by its sovereigns as a fief under the Pope, and
se when crowned they have to own themselves to be vassals
; Holiness. Hence are they only crowned in pasteboard,
he- humiliation, as they deem it, is avoided. I thought
iaug Francis looked as though he would be like his father,
my friend called — " very good-natured."
Digitized by
Google
BECOLLECTIONS OP EMINENT MEN. 801
Sir William Drummond died at Rome in the spring of 1829.
In the autumn of that year, I was again in the Villa Reale at
Naples. Lady Drummond was still there on her old beat ; her
nephew, Stewart, at her side. Both have died since then. Mv
youthful flame, who had dwindled down to a pleasant boyish
recollection, had disappeared : married, I was told, to a Ger-
man oflicer. I take it for granted that she, too, like most of
those I have known in former years, is dead. Naples, dear to
me from my youth, became more than ever endeared to me at
this visit. And heedless of those who had fallen or were falling
before and around me, I received from God his most choice
blessing, and thought myself invulnerable in the happiness
awarded to me. Happy, happy years ! how svriftly have ye
fleeted by since then ! But
** She is gone — she, too, is gone."
^' How strange it is to think that it is all over !'* said a dying
mother to me. It is, perhaps, more strange to feel oneself
gradually moving from the stage ; to see the curtain gradually
dropping between oneself and the outer world ; while those
who were actors with us before it withdraw, one by one,
to that " green-room " where waves the long grass over the
undulating ground and the tall nettles and thistles grow rank ;
vrhere the wind whistles but the light grows dim under the
spreading boughs of the old yew trees ; and where the only
sun that shines is the blessed cross upon the grave stone, ever
proclaiming to us that
" Love and Hope and Beauty's bloom
Are blossoms gathered for the tomb-
There *s nothing bright but heaven."
• [ fVe much regret that press of matter obliges us to defer ^ until
next monthy the notice and interesting correspondence of
Bishop Baines.
Our kind correspondents would very much oblige us if they
would send their communications to us earlier in the month, —
Edit. Cath. Mag. & Reg.]
VOL. XI.
Digitized by CjOOQ IC
3Q2
THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
WRITTEN AT THE REQUEST OF HER BELOVED GRANDMOTHER,
THE LADY BETHUNE OF LINCLUDEN : COMMENCED THE IST
DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 1753.
The first day of September. — My beloved grandmother having
left Mount Baliol at 8 o'clock a.m., to visit our good friends
and cousins the Graemes of the Knowe, has requested of me to
note down all that may occur during her absence, and to
acquaint her of the same on her return.
At eight o'clock this morning our coach departed, carrying in
it the lady of Lincluden — our pretty kinswoman Jean Cumyn,
and a favourite gaze-hound of the name of Speed! Her own
woman also accompanied her; Roger drove the four blaek
Flanders mares, and his son John^ and a groom of my brother
were the outriaers; my brother praised Roger for the sleek
appearance of his horses, but whispered to me he would have the
coach newly painted for me ere we go to Edinburgh, where we
are to pass the winter. I assured him that the coach that did for
my grandmother, would suffice for me> whereat he laughed, and
called me '^ a demure mouse." Truly he is an excellent brother !
Ere my dear grandmother departed, she gave me $, beautiful
piece of rose-coloured taffetas. She has also installed Alice
Lambskin to be my woman, and to have the charge of my laces;
and expressed a hope that she would prove as faithful as her
mother was, who served in our family upwards of forty years.
Alice tells me that there is sufficient taffetas to make me a
sacque and neglige, which, with my cap of Flanders lace which
my brother gave me, will, I am told, be a very becoming dress
toappear in on my birth-day, the 17th.
The henwife came to tell me that the tod had taken two fat
hens and a green goose. I ordered her to tell the keeper and
ranger to come to me, and told them that I marvelled how this
might be, if they attended to their master's interest; whereat
the ranger muttered, " That if Tib would not go sae aften to
the Clachan, the tod would not get her beasts;" but I sharply
desired him not to prate, but to attend to his own affairs.
Memorandum. — -To tell my grandmother this matter on her
return, and also what Ringwood said about Tib.
My brother went out hunting soon after the departure of my
grandmother, and brought home two fine stags ; one was a stag
royal. I ordered Ringwood to preserve the horns of it for the
Digitized by
Google
THE DIABY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL. SOS
hall ; and my heart smiting me for having spoken somewhat
sharply to him about Tib^ I sent a fine haunch to his wife (my
nurse), and told him to send my fosterer to fetch the same. He
came and brought me a young eaglet, which he had taken from
its nest in the Deyil's Chair. He had got sadly wounded by
the mother's beak and claws ; but he said he did not care about
it, he was so proud in having at length procured me an eaglet,
which I have long desired. I di'essed his wounds with some
celebrated salve of my grandmother, and desired him to get his
dinner in the kitchen. I gave him twelve shillings (Scots) and
he departed in great glee. He is a brave lad.
At dinner, my brother made merrie with me; and we being
the ouly two at table, he several times addressed me as Lady
Baliol, his wife ! Alice Lambskin was sorry when T told her
his jest, as she holds that it is not lucky ; so I laughed, and told
her that I had no fear : moreover, that I was too proud of my
own name to mourn if I never had another. In die evening I
sang a litde to my lute, my brother joining with me. In jest he
condoled with me for not having gone to the Knowe with my
grandmother, who considers me yet too young for company ;
and he told me that one of the beauties of a ball he was at the
other week was only sixteen, Mistress Isobel More by name ;
And that soon my hair would be gray, I being nearly seventeen
years of age. At nine o'clock, we retired ; and I went, as is
my custom, to visit the chamber of my dear grandmother, and
felt a sore pang in seeing it empty, for never before since I can
remember have we been separated. Alice Waited on ine^ and
begged to leave open the door ^hich separates her- chamber
from mine. I soon fell aslefep^ ^nd drciaint that I was Miss
Isobel Mbre^ the beauty, and tSiat I was' going to tread a
measure with toy fosterer, RifigWood^ aid tibat the viols were
playing " Up in the mornin's no for me.'? I awoke [September 2,)
suddenly, and thc^ music still ringing in my ears, I threw my
rofoe-de-chambre around me, and going to the vrindow I saw
my brother standing and' giving diredtions to the ranger to sound
a reveille f He called me slug-a-bled, and warned me that
fidready it was past six o'clock ;' that he was going to visit the
Dec^den-chai^e, and hoped that I would wait breakfost till he
Returned. * •
' I went' to the dairy to see the milk sythed ; and heard from
Marjory,' the dairywoman, that she thought Old Peg had
t)ewitehed our cow Grummie, as she could get no milk from her.
I went to look at the poor beast, but could perceive no differ-
ence in her ; but I ordered Marjorie to take her to the byre.
Maijorie said that she thought that Peg had done it, out of
spite for somewhat that she (Marjorie) had said of h6r pretty
y2
Digitized by
Google
S04 THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNfi BALIOL.
daughter Peggie ; but I, having heard from others that Marjorie
is jealous of Peggie, did not altogether believe the story, but I
took care not to say this to Maijorie, as she is a good and
honest servant ; and I find that we have six cheeses more this
half-year than formerly, and have reared two additional calves.
I ordered a ewe milk rebbuck to be sent for the table ; also to
send two pints of sweet milk to okl Dame Durden, at the
Clachan, who has two sick grandchildren now with her. I met
pretty Peggie, who was coming to the Mount for something for
her mother, who had been ailing all the night. I mentioned
what had befallen Crummie ; she was grieved and amazed, but
in no way took guilt to her. She accompanied me to the house,
and I desired the cook to give her some soup and broken-meat
for her mother. I also gave her a bottle of my grandmother's
cordial.
At our breakfast, my brother told me that, in the Deep-den*
chase, he found a troup of gipsies, tinklers, and cairds, and that
he had warned them off his ground ; and told me to caution the
maids that they must be doubly careful of all committed to their
charge, whilst we have such neighbours. I told him of the loss
of the fowls, and how Maijorie declared that Old Peg had
bewitched Crummie. He laughed, and said, he thought the
gipsies knew the taste of the fowls better than the tod, and that
most likely poor Crummie had been frighted by the sight of
Maijorie's ugly face ; she being exceedingly homely in appear-
ance, though a good servant.
I was seated at my wheel, and had well nigh finished my
allotted task of a out, when hearing the trampling of horses in
the court, I went to Ihe window to see whom it might be, and
saw mine honoured uncle and a stranger gentleman alighting at
the door. I desired Alice to bring me my lace pinners, and to
follow me whilst I went to the door to bia them welcome. My
uncle saluted me, and named the stranger to me : it was Mr.
Garden, from the North. My uncle saad, he was uncertain what
day my grandmother meant to go to the Knowe, and had ridden
over to present his young friend to her. My brother now joined
us, and pressed my uncle to remain, which he at once consented
to do ; and, in trulh, I believe he made this visit on purpose to
inspect my housekeeping. I had with my own hands made a
large pastie of the venison, and had ordered soup of the same ;
also a leg of mutton to be roasted ; a stoved how-towdie, with
drappit eggs and force-meat stuffing, a dish my dear brother
does like well : so now I ordered the cook to give us a sirloin of
beef, a jugged hare, and what else she could for the strangers.
I found the keeper below with a fine salmon, weighing near
528tbs, and a pike. I told the cook to boil the salmon whole, and
Digitized by
Google
THE DIABY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL. 305
with mj own hands I made a good pudding for the ston^ach of
the pike; and sending the keeper for some moor-game, I
determined to do the best we could, since better might not be.
At two o'clock, for my brother likes late hours the best, at
two o'clock the dinner was served, and Sir Richard asked Mr.
Garden to lead me to the dining room, I being the only lady
present. I observed that Mr. Garden seemed amused by the
signal which we ever use to announce that dinner is served —
the cook chappin with his rolling pin — and he told me that
a bell is now rung to call people to their meals ; but I
answered that it seemed to me that a bell was more suitable
for calling folk to prayer and fasting, rather than drinking and
feasting.
My uncle was*^leased to commend the pike, and Mr. Garden
avowed that he had never tasted such a pasty.
I wore my dames-plum coloured satin negligee and my
second best lace ruffles, but I felt very shy, and was, I fear, very
akward, for this was the first time I had ever sat at the head
of the table, and in carving the how-towdie, I could not for
some time hit the joint, whereat my uncle appeared distressed ;
but my brother by his lively conversation attracted the attention
of Mr. Garden, so that I think he perceived not my akwardness.
Memorandum. — To practise carving till I be more perfect
at it.
During dinner Mr. Garden and my brother conversed much
on the subject of a gay wedding they had been at lately, and
who was the beauty at the dance in the evening. Mr. Garden
held that one of die bridesmaids surpassed aJl; my brother
said nay, but mentioned no name.
My uncle and Mr. Garden propose going to the Knowe,
where a large party is assembled, and, they say, some strangers
from England, but much I doubt that fact.
After dinner I took a walk in the pleasaunce, and then,
attended by Alice and my valet, I went to the Clachan, to see
how some poor bodies fared, and if they lacked aught that I
could send them. I found them all mending.
In the evening, in order that Mr. Garden might not deem
us utterly ignorant of new fashions, I invited him along with
the others to partake of a dish of tea in my own appartement;
but he tells me that tea is now no rarity, for that at a drum
the other evening at my Lady Foulis, the very servants had
each a dish of it. I marvel how he comes to know this. He
then attempted a song, but his voice pleased me not; and
did make me some fine speeches, but I told him I was too
country in my breeding to care to hear more of them, whereat
he appeared not over well pleased.
Digitized by
Google
306 THE DIAHY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
My uncle expressed himself well pleased with my deporte-
menty and gave me his blessing when 1 retired for the night ;
but before going to my bed chamber, I first went to see that
the maids had properly prepared the rooms which my uncle
and Mr. Garden were to occupy, and also told Howison to
serve them with some good posset when they retired.
September 3. — Being resolved that my brother should not
again call me slug-a^bed I desired my woman Alice to call me
at five o'clock, so that I might have every thing in fitting order
for the breakfast of my uncle and Mr. Garden. The pasty still
looked well, so I ordered it to be served, and a dish of hot collops
and iK>me moor game, and bid the boy run and tell Bingwood
to draw one of the ponds, and send me up a dozen caller trouts ;
which I dressed myself after a receipt of \ny dear grand-
mother's— to the approval of my uncle. I also ordered the
sirloin to be sent in, and told the butler not to spare the best
wine, but to drfiw a jug. of claret from a butt lately sent us from
France by a good and dear friend now there with our White
Rose^ which I pray may yet bloom once more in Auld Scotland.
At parting, my dear uncle. Again oommcDded me, aod Mr.
Garden e^prefi^ed aihope; that we might meet in Edinburgh^
where he does reside^ and where we. purpose, God willing, to
spend tl^is Qoming .winter. My brother gave them a convoy
the matter of three miles. He was mounted on his favourite
^lack boptei, Soldan ; wd in my eyes there is none that oan
compare with him. When they Imd left us I went about mj*
household duties. Maijorie told me that Crummie was now
herself again. I reproved her anent ihe matter of Old Beg,
and I myself do blame the gipsies ; but she maintained she
had tied a bit pf rowan tree to her tail, and had put a silver
sixpence she got from my brother to buy a fairing into her
drinking trough. I do marvel if that could have done good !
Men^oranchtm* — To ask my brother his opinion anent witehes
and th/e gude folk.
I tijien read the space of half-an-houv, and wais doing so
when Alice Lambskin came to. me to consult me on themakingf'
of my rose-coloured taffetas. My brother did return in the
midst th^reof^ and having good knowledge of what is suitable^
and haying moreover much . observation in ihe^e matters^ he
dJLji advise that I should not have a sacqae made of it, but
iijistead a fardingale, ox a hoap^ I like not the notion of a hoop, so
njfi determined to have a fardingale, and my kind brother qhb
hjmself vvritten to Mrs. Needlework, the first mantna-maJter
iiji !l^dinburgh, to. send me a capuchin, and the newest modes
in muff^ wd aprons. In truth, I am not worthy of such a
brother, yet do I love him tenderly.
Digitized by
Google
THE DIAEY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL. 307
Sir Richard did purpose going a shooting. I therefore
orderisd the cook to serve dinner at twelve, noon. Puring our
repast we conversed on the merits of Mr. Garden. My brother
said that he seemed to have ability. I replied that I was no
judge; but, to me, it seemed that he was more learned in
oooking than in aught else; and that I thought he estbemed
me a silly maiden who would be flattered by a few fine
speeches ; and that, in truths I cared not if I saw him again
no more.
My brother has been i^o little in Scotland of late that h^ is
unacquainted with our cousins and neighbours, and Mr: Garden,
who resides in £ldinburgh, has offered to name him to his
friends ; but I trow Sir Richard Baliol will make bis own way,
virithout the aid of Mr. Garden ; and though my dear grand-
mother has been little in Edinburgh daring tibe last eight
years, I doubt not but she could name Sir RichiLrd as well as
Mr. Garden could. I made so bold as to say this to my brother ;
he laughed heartily thereat^ and said I was a litde khow-
nothing ! but seeing the tears in uiy eyes, he saluted me
tenderly, and said that he meant not to distress me, but that
Mr. Garden's acquaintances are the young wits of the day, and
such as my grandmother knows not. He proposed that I
should accompany him as far as the Spring- well-lniiir; and
desiring my page to go and attend me there, I hastened to get
my hat and muff, and acoompimied him. On the way be told
me that after the 17th, he purposed visiting his dea? friend and
comrade, Murray of Kilmaine.
"Murray is one vvhom you will much esteem, Maitha," said
he ; "for he is as fond of the White Rose as you are :" and then
he did regret that in the '45, instead of wielding his sword for
his lawful king, he had shed his blood in die service of the
elector at Fontenoy. I comforted him a« best I could, and
assured him that that matter had been well redd up to the prince
by otur grandmother ; and that he, in his own courtly manner, had
assured her that he knew tbat no Baliol or Bethune would have
drawn his sword against bis lawful king, or left it sheathed when
his country required it. He seemed pleased to hear this.
On my return, I amused myself singing to my lute, and three
several times did I sing over "He's owre the hills that I loe
weel."
Memorandum. — To ask my grandmother to narrate to my
brother her recollections of the month of' September, '45.
I did inspect the pickling of a fine porker ; and assisted by
Alice, and May Kefley, I did preserve some pints of plums —
and made some candied Angelica, which Alice assures me is a
fine thing for keeping off witches and infection.
Digitized by
Google
308 THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BAtlOL.
When my brother returned, he brought with him some fine
black cocks, and muir game, which I saw put carefully into the
larder, and then, wearied with my long walk, I retired before
nine.
September 4. — I rose early in order to see that every thing
might be well in call on the return of my dear grandmother,
but the Enowe is at such a distance from this, that I expect not
her return till afternoon.
I found all going well in the dairy, and told Maijorie that
Mr. Garden (but I mentioned no name to her, merely said a
gentlemen) had told me that buttermilk was one of the finest
things for fattening pigs, and that she might take a young porker
and try. It can do no harm. I told the cook that as we had
kiUed a sheep, to see that we had a good haggis to dinner, as
my grandmother likes that dish well.
I could not settle to my spinning, but broke my thread so
often in rising hastily to look for the coach, that I put aside my
wheel, and tried to read, but came no better speed. I went to
look for my brother, but found he had gone out with two gaze
hounds which my uncle had brought him. I then went to see
how Alice progressed with my fardingale, but just as she
proceeded to let me see it, I heard the sound of wheels, and
ran hastily to welcome my dear grandmother. She had alighted
ere I reached the door, and running towards towards her I flung
my arms round her, and she embraced me tenderly. I then
perceived that she was not alone, but was accompanied by a
gentleman. I felt ashamed that he should have seen me run-
ning and knew not where to look, or what to do, but he appeared
to be assisting my grandmother's woman Elspet to keep Speed
quiet, and saw not my confusion. ^^ Come hither. Master
Edwardes,'' said my grandmother, ^^ this is a young mayden I
hope to see you well acquainted with : this is my granddaughter,
Martha Baliol." Mr. Edwardes bowed low, and did express
himself to the effect that he should be well pleased if I would
rank him amongst my acquaintance. He then, my brother being
absent, offered his arm to my grandmother to assist her up
stairs, whilst Elspet and I followed.
On our way to the oak chamber, where my grandmother
always sits, Elspet told me that she was both tired and hungry,
RnpAfl Tiflving eat all the luncheon that the lady of the Kuowe
0 a basket for her. I ordered her, therefore, to hasten
\k and get her dinner, whilst I went to attend my
er.
ring the oak chamber, Mr. Edwardes handed me a
be remained standing till both my grandmother and
1 entreat that he would be seated.
Digitized by
Google
THE DIABY OF MARTHA BBTHUNB BALIOU 309
At her request I then told her wha4: had oocurred during her
absence, and mentioned the visit of my uncle and Mr. Gkirden.
" What Garden is he ?" she inquired.
" He is from the North, I believe," I replied, *T)ut does reside
in Edinburgh."
" Nay, then," quoth she, " it is just Francie Garden : but how
comes Bernard to know him, still less to fancy that the sight of
him would be a pleasure, the naming of him an honour to me."
^^ How came he to be so fEir from Lucky Laings at the com-
mencement of the oyster season ?" said Mr. Edwardes : where-
upon my grandmother laughed heartDy — but I knew not what
they alluded to.
" We are honest folk here, Master Edwardes," said my grand-
mother, "so ye may e'en tell Martha the tale after your ain
fashion :" whereupon Mr. Edwardes said, —
^'On the 19th of September, '45, when all our hearts beat
high with hope, and when it appeared as if Heaven was to
prosper our cause, and to restore our rightiiil king, sixteen very
valiant and loyal subjects of the electors volunteered to recon-
noitre our army and report our position during the night, to the
authorities. Some I believe did, or said they succeeded in sur-
veying our position. They may have done so, for ours were not
paid train bands, with out-posts, and pickets placed, but a
handful of the bravest, truest, most loyal hearts that ever beat,,
following a prince whom they loved to death or victory, and
each eager to help to re-establish on the throne the descendant
of a hundred kings.
" Two of these valiant youths whom I have told you of — one
was Francie Garden, the other Robert Cunninghame, started on
their expedition, which led them towards Musselburgh, and
when passing the ale-house of Luckie Laing, they found, I sup-
pose, their courage unequal for the task, and determined to
brace their nerves with stronger spiHts than their own ; and to
add to the temptation, a heap of newly-opened oyster shells lay
at the door of the ale-house, and Luckie Laing was celebrated for
the sherry she had. Their conduct admits of no excuse, for there
they sat. — Yet they were valiant servants to the usurper : and
there they . remained, till a young fellow from the North, who
had given his master the slip to follow his king, chanced to look
in at the window and recognised them. He knew that they
had sat drinking till the state of the tide rendered their return
by the sands impossible : accordingly he stationed himself on
the narrow bridge of the Eske, and when the two attempted to
pass, he made them prisoners ; he a young lad scarce eighteen.
He conducted them to the camp, and gave them in charge of
John Roy Stuart, commander of the king's body guard, who at
Digitized by
Google
810 THE DIARY Of MAtlTfiA BfiTHt7NB BALIOL.
once deol^^d that &kf'^We spies, and px>posed to hang them
instantly. The idea of dying for their king, had never been
entertained by them ; you may tiierefore imagine their conster-
nation. Golquhoun Qradt held a commission in the body
guard, and they requested to £fee him, and he managed either to
get them off, or let tbc^m off; But iiiiagine their agony, when
good Boy StuaH dedaared he ^ould hang thetd immediately to
save time, and Ibat h^ was oeirtain that the auldest, and warst
fEiToured (Mr. Oarden) maun be a spy, or something waur.*'
To the best of my poor ability I have endeavoured to give
this story in Master Edwardes* own words, but I cannot give it
with the same spirit, and the bare narration appears exceedingly
tame when I read it, and compare it to the animated manner
in which he told it. It confirms my prejudice against Master
Garden, which I was somewhat ashamed of, as being without
reason.
Searee had Master Edwardes finished when my brother
entered. My granddame led him aside, and conversed earnestly
with him ; whilst Master Edwardes narrated to me the manner
in which they passed the time at the Knowe, and did tell me
that my cousin, Lucy Grsome, is of rare and exceeding beauty,
and. to his mind prettier than either of her sisters. My brother
did then advance, and taking Mr. Edwardes by the hand, he
greeted him kindly, and expressed the pleasure it gave him to
see him (Mr. E.) at Mount Baliol, and hoped he would make it
his home as long as it was convenient for him to do so,
and more to the same effect ; to all of which Mr. Edwardes did
reply in a suitable manner. My granddame told us then of otur
cousins^ and Ihat she had invfted them all to the ball which my '
kind brother gives me on the 1 7th, and also several of their
neighbours ; and had promised hunting to the young men, and
a merry dance to the young maidens. She did then retire to
her own chamber, and I did accompany her; I brought her
my diary, wherewith she was much amused, and does advise
me to continae it She says that she will not ask to see" it^
unless it be my wish.
At dinner we were, as Master Edwardes termed us, une
partie guarr^y to his thinking the pleasantest of all. He has
been so much abroad, that he says he is a stranger to the ways
and manners of this country, and has prayed me to instruct him
in our customs ; and in return, he promises to instruct me in the
habits and head-dresses most in vogue, and to describe minutely
the number of diamonds in the stomacher of the Pompadour
worn at a ball at Versailles, which he was at very lately, and
where he had the honour of walking a minuet with the lovely
Madame de Choiseul, a countrywoman of his own.
Digitized by
Google
THE DIABY OP MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL; 311
As Master Edwardes practises the foreign fiisliiob of' acdom^
panying the ladies to the witfadrawiog room, we had time for a
walk, and he and my brother pressed me mueh to accom-
pany them. Getting my muff and capuchin I did so, and wer
walked to the Deep-den-chase, where we^ found the gipsies
encamped. My brother went to speak to Bingwood about this
matter ; and an old gipsy no sooner saw him leave us than she
came up, and said she would spae our fortunes. 1 was afraid,
and drew back ; but Master Edwardes encouraged me, and
said, the future could have no terrors for me, though I might'
make much woe to others : I was therefore persuaded, and held
out my hand. The old woman, who was ugly and dirty, looked
at my hand attentively, and then told me that I would travel-
far, and see many countries ; but far as I would travel I would
never overtake happiness and — ^but here Master Edwardes see-'
ing me turn pale from terror, for in sooth I liked not to hear
her, interrupted her, and told her to tiy bis hand : " And,
remember, no tricks with me," said he; " for I had my fortune
told by a celebrated necromancer in Paris; so see that you say
the same.*' He then laughed, and said to me : ^ She gave you'
ill luck because you gave her no money. I learnt in Paris, that
they see the future more clearly when the present is covered
with silver. Is it not so ? " and he put some silver into her
hand.
' She scowled on him, and said : " Ah ! French gold — little
good has it brought to Scotland."
" True, mother," said he, " and English less.**
"Aye, lad," she replied, " say ye so — then I'm thinking little
o't has come your way."
He answered, laughing : " I believe I am an Englishman ;
so you are wrong there."
" English, are ye ! then ye come o' an ill and a cruel kind.
Little do me or mine owe them," she muttered. And then
taking his hand, she said: "Aye, an English loof— fyled wi
Scotch blude. There's blude on this hand, for as white as it
looks — mony a bludie danger, past, and monie mair to come."
"They'll be welcome," he said; "we shall meet as old
friends."
" Friends ! — aye, aye, ye say true ; it's frae your friens that
ye hae maist to fear. Do you see that reid mark crossing the
line o life ? — sae young, and sae bonnie ! — but it's dim, and I
canna see beyond it — " and she stopped.
" Well, mother, what now ! I have faced most dangers —
what is this one that scares you ? believe me, I shall be ready."
" To die a bludie death," she said, solemnly.
" Aye, to die a bloodie death ! It has been the fate of those
Digitized by
Google
312 THE DIARY OF BfARTHA BETHUNB BALIOL*
nearest and dearest to me ; why should it not be mine ? Only
say, that success crowns my fall ; and then, welcome death !'*
^^ Success ! aye, truly ; yeVe no the ane to fail in aught that
a brave heart, a reddie ban, or a winnin tongue can help on :
but—"
" Nay," he said, interrupting her, " I'll hear no more. To die
in the arms of victory, has ever been the lot I most envied;"
and at that moment my brother joined us.
^' Hola ! " he paused a moment, and looked at Master Edwardes.
" Edwardes ! *' he said. " Well, Edwardes," continued my
brother, ** are you getting a charm, or having your fortune spaed ?
Is he to be a lord, and ride in a coach and six ? That, I think,
is the general reward of merit accorded us here."
^^That at least — ^but this old lady has been trying to frighten
me out of a little money by predicting battle, murder, and sud-
den death. Now in Paris for half the sum I gave her, my
diviner promised me every kind of pleasiu*e, and so pleased was
I^ that I gave the poor wretch a louis for her pains."
Master Edwardes seemed to treat the matter as a jest, and
alluded to it no more : but I could not help thinking again and
again on the words I had heard. I told them to my grand-
mother, but she assured me that the woman was probably angry
with him for laughing at her craft, and having some grudge
against the English, had said it on purpose.
In the evening Master Edwardes sang sweetly to us some
French romances, and did appear to have quite forgotten the
fate foretold him.
(To be continued. J
Digitized by
Google
313
REGISTER
NEW PUBLICATIONS, CORRESPONDENCE, AND EVENTS.
The Editor of the Catholic Magazivi avd Bboistbb desires that his Corres-
pondents and Contribntors may alone be held responsible for the opinions and
sentiments that each may express* But he inyites our Venerable Clergy and all
Catholics to send him information on all matters of religious interest in their
several neighbourhoods.
NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.
The Treatise qfAlberttu Maffntu (1193-1280) De adharendo Deo, qf adhering
to God J translated from the Latin, Pp.65. London: Gilpin. 1850. •
Albertus Magnus was a learned Dominican in the thirteenth centiuy^
eometime Bishop of Ratisbon^ till he resigned his bishopric and returned
to the quiet of bis monastery. In his youtb he is reported to hare been
very dull and stupid, till the Blessed- Virgin appeared to him and asked him
whether he would choose to excel in philosophy or divinity; be chose
philosophy, and she promised him all success ; out foretold that to punish
nim for not having selected the nobler science, he should before he died
relapse into his pristine stupidity : which accordinglv came upon him while
he was lecturing in his old age 1 This story is tola by Bayle who does not
condescend to refute it ; but merely adds that those who believe him will
know that he considers it a fable, and those who believe the fable will not
alter their opinion in reference to anything he may sav 1
Turn we now to the little book before us ; whicn is much too grave
to have recorded such an anecdote. Wherefore it was published we cannot
understand. As a book on religious meditation, it contains nothing new or
striking ; but not knowing who the translator is, we suspect that it has been
manufactured out of the original for Protestant purposes, to the exclusion
of all reference to practices of Catholic piety. The result is a compound of
Jansenism, Spinosism, Protestantism, and scripture, that is repulsive. We
cannot understand why the book was published.
Hungary and the Hungarian Struggle. Three Lectures delivered before the
Edinburgh Philosophical Institution, By T. Grieve Clark. Twenty months
resident in Hungary during 1847-8-9. 1 voL 8vo, pp. 128. London:
Groombridge.
So rapid have been revolutions and restorations during the last three years,
that this book appears rather after date. All the world feels that General
Georgey sold his country, and that the interest now attaching to Hungary is
already either historical or anticipative : Hungary exists not at present. But
the book is pleasantly written, and gives an animated account of scenes of
which the writer was a witness. These are recorded in a light and easy
style, the very familiarity of which is acceptable. It agreeably conveys
considerable information.
Digitized by
Google
314 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
A Few Words of Hope on the Present Crisis of the English Church. By the
Rev. J. M. Neale» M.A.» Warden of Sackville College. London:
Masters. 1850.
Anything however humble, however insignificant in appearance, must, by
a certain portion df our perplexed brethren, be joyfully received as coming
from the. pen of the learned^ {mous, but, alas I dduded Warden of Sackville
College. Mr. Neale's zeal against the tenets of Holy Church, as also his
activity in withholding souls from entering the Kingdom of Heaven, has
long been a matter of notoriety; and we can only say, his Few Words of
Hope have been read by us with considerable interest. Mr. Neale compares
the " history of the Swedish with that of the English Church. The former,
to all outward appearances, emerged from the Reformation with far greater
likelihood of duration. It was less changed in every respect; it retained
greater dignity in its offices ; it was less spoiled arid oppressed by the State.
But every change in Sweden has been in a downward, every alteration in
England in an vpward direction. Without such powerful enemies, without
sucb narrow escapes, the Swedish Establishment has lost and lost; the
English Church, pressed ofttimes out of measure above strength, despairing
even of life, has gained and gained."
^ Passing over the untenableness of our learned Warden's position, assumed
in the latter portion of this paragraph , we would fain remind ^im of an
.argunient wmoh, if we mistake not, we learned fiN)m one of his earlier works,
when ha was- more Gatholically imbued than, at present, via., tbat the fkct
«f the non-promiUffaHon of the Bull of Excommunication against England
4is a nation, in thetime of Elizabeth, was the cause of her proceeding in an
upward direcUoa i while Sweden, Gieneva, and the other Protestant coun«
tries, having been formally excommunicated, were plunging themselves yet
deeper into the abyss of heresy.
Mr. Neide was at that time willing to allow some spiritual efficacy to the
lodgments of the Holy See, and therefore saUr much in this remarkable fact;
but the pressing of this argument did not suit his purpose in A Few Words
^f Hope s as he well knew that *' many would," happily for their souls'
health, "forsake their allegiance" to a state Establishment, and therefore
anything tending to prove the spirituality of Rome would only weaken his
purpose, and perhaps accelerate the departure of many who are now only
ieginning to doubt.
We shall bring these few i emails to a conclusion by quoting Mr. Neale's
advice to his doubting brethren : — " Clearly is it their duty to wait The
Church will emerge from this affliction either the better for it or the worse ;
if the- latter, jt will be time enongh to leave her then ; if the former, bitterly
will they repent the baring left her at all." If, then, our house is on fire^
according to this position, we must wait until it be actually burnt down ere
we leave, or rather, until the falling rafters point out our imminent danger.
Verily this is a curious argument. But will Mr. Neale kindly tell us which
.among our converts (saving Messrs. Sibthorpe, Jephson and Conolly) have
.bitter^ ** repented having left the Establishment?" On the contrary, from
the published writings of Messrs. Newman, Oakeley, Faber, Hiompson,
Nortncote, Bittlestone and others, we learn that they all rejoice with joy
unspeakable in having been so fjar favoured with the Divine grace as to be
enabled to leave the Church of England, as established by law; and we
sincerely believe that these gentlemen and their brother converts would
rather, each and every one of them, shoulder a broom and conunenee the
profession of street sweeping, than be raised to the highest (so called)
ecclesiastical preferment in the miserable and helpless body which they have
deserted, and which indeed, as Mr. Ward has truly observed, **' has no
DEFINITE DOCTRINE TO TEACH."
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIOENCK. 315
CORRESPONDENCE.
Thb Conversion of England.
To the Editor of the ^ Catholic Magazine and Regitter.'*
Jjisu Chbibtj Passio.
. Dbar Sir. — In my last letter^ I brought forward the 37th chapter of
Esekiel, in order to draw from it my answer to the question whether Eng-
land will ever be Catholic again ? I will now go on to some more remarks
on parts of that interesting vision cf the prophet. I wish to point out how
it appears to illustrate what we have seen actually going on among us in
these last days ; so that I would almost venture to apply to it the words of
our Lord, "This day is fulfilled this scripture in your ears.*' (Luke iv. 21.)
About twenty years ago, if it had been asked, where was the spot in all
England, where a Catholic movement was least likelv to take place, where
might Catholic life be considered most completely extmct, and some one had
named the university of Oxford, I think all would have agreed he was in tho
right. To no place, apparently could the similitude of the plain of dry
bones, as far as regarded Catholic life, be more appropriatelv applied. Yet
what have we seen ? There was heard no prophet's voice mdeed to move
the bones ; but about seventeen years ago, as Mr. Newman dates it in his
present course of lectures, *' there was a noise and behold a commotion" in
Oxford : (see v. 7) a movement commenced then, which as it proceeded
attracted more and more the attention and became the topic of discourse of
all tins kingdom, and of Catholics in other countries. A Dody of the learned
men of the University were setting themselves to inouire for truer, sounder
doctrine by ways long disused, and to the generality of people quite unknown.
By diligent researches into ecclesiastical antiquity, they were seen gradually
shaking oS old prejudices against the Cathohc (Jhurch, embracing one after
another Catholic dogmas, following Catholic practices, till at length they had
become, as it were, complete Catholics, as Ezekiel saw the bones coming into
order, and covered by aegrees, with sinews and flesh and then with skin, in
short, formed into perfect bodies, but in one case as in the. other, for a time
'* there was no spirit in them." (v. 8.) How were they at length brought to
life ? The prophet was again commanded to speak ; not now to the bones ;
but to the spirit, '* to come from the four winds, and blow upon these slain,
and let them lire again." He did so and "they stood up upon their feet an
exceeding great armv." (v. 10.) And how did it happen with the Oxford
divines f They also have lived again. But how ? By what agency I Not
by man's. At least, it was not man's wisdom, eloquence, or efforts which
led them home. If man had to do with it, it was the prayer of the good
through the world, which caused the great result. Towards the end of the
year 1845, Bp. Wiseman visited France, and moved by the wonderful new
position in which things were among so many in England, he wrote a
circular letter to the bishops of that kingdom .to beg the prayers of the
faithful for our countrv. A general movement of prayer was made in
answer to it, for ten oays or a fortnight, and very soon after — I have not
now at hand the means to sav how soon — Mr. Newman and his companions
at Littlemore were received into the Church. Many more followed, and
may we not say, " the^ stand on their feet, an exceeding great army." Look
only at the Fathers of the Oratory under Father Newman's command. An
exceeding great army, it is true, they are not, numerically ; but in point of .
ability and of moral influence, is not each of them individually almost a host
in himself? Or will not this be the truth, when, helped by further prayers,
they come into full action ) Yet the prophecjr was not to the spirit from the
four winds. It was a great voice indeed wmch called, and it was a noble
Digitized by
Google
316 JfONTHLY INTELLIGENCE,
Catholic people which was invoked, and which heard and responded to the
call. But it was only one among the nations of the faith; and the call was
made but once^ and by one voice. Yet — ^what an effect 1 Oh ! if the
Catholics of England would but cry unanimously! Oh I if they would
mi^e their cry sound throughout all lands, and repeat and repeat it again,
till the whole Christian world should ring again with its sound, and be, as it
were, forced to pray for us incessantlv ! This has not been done : but why
should it not now be done } The breath of prayer for England, has not
been whollv spent and silenced. Some have persevered in England itself;
many in other lands ; and by the dews and sunshine of divine grace, which
they have drawn upon this country, another harvest has been gradually
ripeninff. The Lord God, merciful and good beyond our hopes, beyond our
very wishes, has raised another great commotion, the noise of which is
heard in every quarter of the land, and which has set many on the search
for a place of rest, who have hitherto been lying at ease in their old state of
insensibility and slumber ; while many more, who had before been moving
towards the truth and becoming by degrees more enlightened, are begin-»
ning now to feel to the quick the danger and unsoundness of their position ;
but either know not as yet where is that firm ground on which they fain
would set their feet, or are scared at the difficulties of the step which they
must take to reach it. Now, I ask, are we to leave the issue of this new
commotion, which the controversy on baptism has excited, to remain doubtful,
or shall we, by united unceasing prayers, and by moving all Catholics
throughout the world to join us in prayer, make the result sure, and mo^e
Almighty God to bring out of the conmsion which we see the divinely wise
order of the Catholic Church, as his spirit of old moving on the face of the
chaotic deep, brought forth this universe with all its varied yet harmonious
beauties. Oh ! it would indeed be lamentable, if we let pass this crisis un-
improved ; and what are we to do i some may say* 1 might be content to
answer, where there is a will there is a way. If people will it, surely they
can pray, and they can ask others to pray. I will mention here what was
done by one steady persevering man. Brother Luke, the Cistercian, was
sent, some years ago, into France to beg money for the building of the
Abbey Church of Mount St. Bernard, in Leicestershire. He undertook to
beg spiritual alms also, and to make his petition for these before he asked
for the money. He succeeded well in his two years' begging for money ;
God fulfilling to him the promise, ''Seek first the kingdom of God and his
justice and the rest shall be added." And how about the prayers ? He
showed me a book on his return in which were written promises by the
superiors of 500 religious houses of men or women that they wpuld with
their communities persevere in prayer for England, besides 300 more who
promised without writing. Oh * how much might be done by thousands, if
one can do so much 1 Another case has lately occurred to be added to this.
A young gentleman, a convert, who resides in Liege, where, last year, I had
the pleasure of making his acquaintance, has taken up the cause, and being
employed in business during the week, on Sundays visits in turn one or
other of the parishes in the neighbouring countiy, and begs the pastors to
recommend England to their flocks, himself distributing after Mass, little
prints to remind them. With a little quiet constancy of purpose, how soon
might we see all Christendom in a steady flame of charity for England; and
this spirit of zeal once alive, I say for those who care not so much for
prayers, we should soon see open to us all the resources of the Christian
world, in money and men, to help us. Oh 1 let us at length begin in earnest.
I am, dear Sir, your faithful Servant in Jesus Christ,
Ignatius of St. Paul, Passionist.
SU Peter"* Chapel Hwue, Winchester,
June \%ih, 1850.
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 817
P.S.^I have not failed to notice the interestinf( tugfifeetion of your cor-
respondent who signs his namd Uniu, The idea, which he 8Uff$;e8ts has
struck me before. In due time, please God, something of the Kind, with
proper authority, may be well organized.
Consecration op the New Church at Erdinoton.
To the Editor of the " Catholic Magazine and Register.**
Sir. — ^The new Catholic church of St. Thomas of Canterbury, which, it
will be remembered, was opened for Divine service a few months ago, was
solemnly consecrated on the 11th inst., by the Right Rev. Dr. Ullathorne.
The service commenced at six o^clock in the morning, and extended over
four hours. The attendance of the clergy and laity was numerous, and
included many distinguished individuals from a distance, and several Pro-
testants. V
At half-past ten o'clock, the clergy, regular and secular, and others
engaged in the service, assembled on the ground adjoining the church, and
from thence proceeded to the west entrance and along the nave to the high-
altar. Masters A. L. Phillipps and C. Tucker, as thurifers, first advanced,
followed by the cross-bearer, supported on both sides by the Hon. J. Dor-
mer and the Hon. M. Nugent as acolytes ; a number of youths in surplices,
followed by the choir of St. Chad's, conducted by Mr. Hardman; and after
the choir various religious orders, represented as follows : — ^the Benedictines
by the Rev. T. Barber, president- general of the order, the Rev. R. Burchall,
president of Douay College, Rev. W. Scott, of Malvern, Rev. T. C. Smith,
of Acton Bumell, and the Rev. M. Sinnott, of Coventry ; the Dominicans
by the Rev. S. Proctor, superior, and Fathers Morwood, Dent, and Maltus ;
the Oratorians by Fathers Penny, Gordon, Caswall, Flanagan, and several
of the brethren from the Oratory, Birmingham; the Rosminians by the
Rev. Dr. Pagani, of Radcliffe College ; the Oblates of the Immaculate Con-
ception by Fathers Bellon, Tortel, Arnouz, Cook ; the Rev. M. McDonough
and thirteen of the brethren from St. Mary's Vale, — all wearing the costume,
&c., peculiar to their respective orders. The secular clergy, to the number
of forty, next followed ; amongst whom were the Venr Rev. John Moore,
president of Oscott College, lUv. F. Amherst, Rev. «f. Mayland, Rev. H.
Weedall, the Revs. T, Leitb, F. Bond, P. Holland, W. Lovie, S. Fox, F.
Fwrfax, F. Turville, T. Longman, T. Tysan, E. Huddleston, P. O'Sullivan,
J. Dalton, J. Parke, J. JefPries, T. Revill, J. Macarte, R. BagnaU, T.Telford,
W. lUsley, T. Flanagan, J. Walker, J. Moore (Sutton), H. Henage, H.
Formby, and a nuniber of divines from Oscott College.
The bishop, with his deacon, sub-deacon, and attendants, closed the
procession, and on arriving at the altar commenced the celebration of high
mass. The service terminated at twelve o'clock. Amongst those present
were A. L. Phillipps, Esq., of Grace Dieu ; Lady Smythe and famihr, of
Acton Bromell ; Carrington Smythe, Esq., of Wooten ; — Maxwell, Esq.,
of Yorkshire ; W. Leigh, Esq., of Woodchester Park; G. Haigh, Esq. ; W.
Haigh, Esq. ; Mr. James Wareing ; Mrs. John Poncia, &c. After service
the clergy and a select party of the laity proceeded to Oscott College,
where dinner was prepared for them. At five o'clock in the evening vespers
was sung and benediction given by his lordship the bishop, the service
being attended by a numerous congregation.
. And now relative to the structure, which has not been improperly
designated a model of architectural beauty, and well calculated to enhance
the fame of Mr. Charles Hansom, the architect, the fallowing brief
description may not be . uninteresting to. your readers :-rIt is a beautiM
VOL. XI, ^
Digitized by
Google
818 MONTHLl. INT£LLIGENCB.
Gotkic fitractuie^ in the eaiiy decoisted style. There are two entrances.
The front or west entrance, which is rendered the more interesting by
havinf( a room over it, anciently called 'the "parvisd," stands at or near the
S. W. anf(le. The lower part is beautifully groined in stone, with corbels,
ribs, and carved crosses of great beautv. It is lighted in the east by two
windows, and entered by a rich archway, having a crocketted gable, between
which and tbe arch is an exquisite piece of sculpture- of our Lord carrying
his cross. Over this, in the centre of the window which lights the upper
chamber, is a niche containing a figure of St. Thomas of Canterbury,
habited as archbishop, in the act of giving a blessing to all who enter. The
upper room is approached by a spiral staircase, opening from the interior
of the church and surmounted by an open turret with crocketted and gable
spire, containing tbe "Angelus bell." -
The church consists of nave, with north and south aisles^ and north and
south chapels divided from the aisles bypillars and richly moulded arches,
partially filled by mahoganv screens. There are, therefore, four rows of
pillars at the upper part of tne church. The total width across the chapels
SB 75 foet. At the eastern end of the nave, iod separated from it by a richly-
carved mahogany screen and rood loft under a moulded arch, is the
chancel 40 feet long by 20 wide, having four two->]ight windows on the south
side, two, on the north, and a large stained glass window of All Saints
Trmmphanis, atthe east. > The sanctuary, when viewed from the nave, pre-
sents a very beautiful appearance. The high altar is enclosed all round by
curtains of tapestry suspended fitom brass rods and pillars^ surmounted by
angels also'in brasa. . At the sides of the altar stand statues of saints, which
were carved, painledvand deccrated ki Germany^ and are magnificent. On
eitherside of the chancer adjoining the screen are stalls capable of holding
ten persons. The chapeLin the south aide is that of the Blessed Sacrament.
The akar and tabcvnaele are of stone. The' exdeHeney of the workmanship
is fully equal to the chasteness of' its design. Suspended from the ceiling
before the ali^r is a carved beam, beautifully gilt, and to which are attached
seven coloured lamps, designed to represent the seven churches of Asia.
The other chapd, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, is not less attractive. On
either side stands the figure oi the Blessed Virgin and St. John, about three
feet high. . Beneath the altar is a representation of the Dead Christ, carved
ia stone. Kxtfmaally both diapels are roofed -with gables at each end, and
appear to stand- almost detached, which gives a beautiful irregularity and
variety to the exterior. 'The > pulpit, which is placed at the top of the north
aisle nearithe rood screen, has elaborate and splendid carvings in the panels
from the life of the: paiorcn savBt;
The confessionals are placed on each side of the chxufch as near the centre
as possible, and ovlsp tnem are' curved representations eymbolical of the
riacrament of pdbance; The roof of the church is what is termed an open
roof; richly coloured, gilt, and ornamented; and from it hang several
handsome brass kmps : and the same will apply to the aisles. Placed against
the pillars are the Stations of the Passion m>m Germany. They are coloured,
and a»yet mar be said to be the best imported. They aire special objects of
attraction, and will well repay inspection. I could haVe wished some other
places in the church had been' selected for them than the fronts of the
pillars, for though as a whole, on entering, they add greatly to the splendour
of the interior of the church, yet ^th the pedestal they hide to a certain
extent the proportions and beauty of the pillars; The tower stands at the
north-west angle, and forms a baptistery, having a stone groined roof sup-
ported upon elaborately earved brackets in' the four angles. It is lighted by
twolai^ge witodows ^of three lights each, the other two sides having arches
communicating 'mth the church. The firont is 'of bold proportions^ but
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELUGENCB. 319
somewhat plain $ but I should think it ia intended to be still farther orna-
mented, and if screens were added it would much improve the general
appearance; indeed, it only requires them to make it a most complete baptis-
tery. The second sta^e of the tower is devoted to the ringing chamber, the
third to the clock chamber, and the fourth to the belfry with eight windows
of two lights each — the whole surmounted by a carved and moulded cornice
having the emblems of the four evangelists at the angles. The heads of
the buttresses are terminated in richly crocketted gablets, and a profusion of
grotesque figures boldly carved are seen in various parts of the tower. The
spire is still' unfinished, but the works are rapidly proceeding, and when
complete will be 150 feet high, and will form, like its once Catholic neigh-
bour at Ashton, a beautiful feature from every part of the surrounding
country. The sculpture, with few exceptions, is the work of Mr. Henry
Lane, a talented artist in the employ of Mr. Hansom. The builder of the
edifice is Mr. George Taylor, of Coventry. The stained glass and brass work
are from the manufactory of Messrs^ Hardman & Co., of Birmingham. The
organ was buiU by Messrs. Grav & Davidson, and is considered a fine*
toned instrument. The cost of the building is about £12,000, which with
the endowment will make £16,000 or £16,000. And now last, but not least
in importance, may I briefly notice the munificence of Rev. D. Haigh, the
founder. Well and truly may he be said to have complied with the advice
of our divine Saviour, in which is implied a recompense more than propor-
tioned to the sacrifice, and which shall not be lessened by encomium, much
less empty adulation, from the pen of T. M.
THE MIRACLE. AT RIMINI.
To the Editor of the " Catholic Magazine and Register"
Sir. — I beg to enclose you two statements regarding the miraculous picture
called the Madonna of Rimini, which is causing so great a sensation
throughout Italy, trusting that it will both interest and edify your readers.
One is taken from the " Moniteur Catholioue," and the otner from the
*' Morning Post" of the 14th of June; the sneering and incredulous
remarks of the latter paper, I have not thought proper to transcribe, as they
are as usual replete with abuse of the Holy Catholic Church.
I remain. Sir, your obedient Servant,
June 15M. B. T.
" In the little Church attached to the house of the missionaries of the
precious blood at Rimini, a picture of the most Blessed Virgin, which is
placed in a side chapel of this Church, had been seen to open and close the
eyes on the 12th of May last'. The concourse of people, which this occurrence
drew together, was such that the militaty were called out to preserve order.
The Bishop being absisnt, the Vicar-General, to satisfy the desires of the
people, was obliged to remove the picture (which is ail oil painting on canvas)
from the side chapel, where it had hitherto hung, to the high 'altar. Many
thousand persons had seen the ejTeS move, land numberless letters affirm the
same. The Bishop, who at the time was visiting his diocese, hastened to
return to Rimini. At first we received this announcement with extreme
caution, waiting for more authentic details. The Gazzetta di Bblogna first
mentioned it; afterwards, on the 15th of May, the Lord Bishop of Runini
published a pastoral letter of which we have already given an' extract : now
we have letters from Rimini up to the I7th of May; they state that both
glass and frame have been removed firom the picture, so that nothing remains
but the bare canvas; nevertheless the eyes of the painting continued to
open and shut, to be raised and lowered, so there could be no doubt of the
z 2
Digitized by
Google
320 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
fact ; and although the sun became obscured bj heavy clouds the prodigy
continued to the great confusion of those who attributed the wonder to the
effect of solar rays, or some optical delusion. Yesterday brought us a
printed account of the solemn translation of the painting from the httle
Church of the Missionaries to the great Church of St. Augustin.
"To-day we have again fresh letters from Rimini of the 20th of May;
they inform us that the streets and squares are crowded with people from
all parts of the country, from Pesaro, Cesena, Forli, Faenza, Ravenna, &c.,
who come to see the picture. The Austrian General left Bologna in haste
for Rimini, and departed convinced of the reality of the prodigy. Also two
Austrian officers being perfectly incredulous on the subject of the miracle,
asked and obtained the Bishop's permission to hold the picture in their own
hands, but whilst doing so, the Madonna gave them such a look that they
both instantly fell upon their knees, and tearing off their decorations they
hung them upon the picture as ex-votos.
"Some demagogues placed placards during the night throughout the
town insisting that the wonder was an effect bestowed by the artist, but
no one can for an instant credit such an absurd explanation, for more than
fifty thousand individuals testify to the truth of what they beheld, and the
greater part of them have become converted to virtue. Another proof, we
suppose, of the artisfs skill J
" We find the following in a recent letter also : — ' In the evening of the
19th, the Bishop of Rimini having placed himself very close to the picture,
the eyes opened fully upon him, producing such an effect that the prelate
fainted on the spot.' All the local authorities are coming in from the
neighbouring towns, and the concourse of strangers is immense. These
words of St. Austin alone distress us :— ' Signa dantur infidelihus,* But it
is the Mother of Mercy who is calling us back to religion.
" The ' Messager de Modene ' informs us that the prodigy which began on
the 12th of May, still continued up to the 22nd. In another correspondence,
addressed to the ' Osservetor Romano ' we read the following : — ' No one
can dispute the prodigy occurring in regard to the picture of the Blessed Virgin
which continues still, and has made many miraculous cures : the blind see,
wounds disappear instantaneously, the deaf hear, and strangers of all classes
flock in from every side. Blasphemies are no longer to be heard, and public
sinners give public marks of repentance. Rimini is no longer the same.
The Missionary Fathers who do duty in the Church of St. Austin to which
the picture has been moved, have no further trouble in converting the most
hardened : all those who have beheld the motion of the eyes burst into
tears, and cry aloud for mercy.
" On the 29th May, the miracle of Rimini still continued. The governor
of the town, in the absence of the Bishop, who was engaged in visiting
other parts of his diocese, sent an official account of the origin and the
circumstances of this event. On the reception of this document, which
allowed no one to doubt the truth of the miracle, the Pope caused a letter to
be sent to the Bishop, who returned in all haste to his episcopal town, in
order that he might transmit to his holiness an exact account of all that
had taken place. This document was sent to the Secretary of State, and by
him handed to the Pope. As it fully confirms the report of the governor
and the different private accounts, the Sovereign Pontiff gave orders to the
Bishop to proceed to a judicial inquiry. The result of this inquiry will be
communicated to the Holy Congregation of Rites, whose province it is
to attend to such matters, and which was called upon in 1797 to examine
into similar facts, which took place at Ancona and other places. It is, then,
only that the fact which so warmly engages public attention may be properly
explained. You see with what prudence the Church proceeds in such
I
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 3^1
affairs, and how ill-founded are the reproaches of credulity and fanaticism
which are addressed to it hy heresy and irreliprion. I will also mention to
you, as a proof of this reserve, the conduct pursued hy the Bishop of Cesene,
a town near Rimini. The report of the miracle was not lon;^ m reaching
that prelate, but he hesitated to believe it until he had positive proofs. He
therefore sent a canon of the cathedral to Rimini to examine strictly into the
affair, and to send him a report according to his conscience and his positive
conviction. The good canon proceeded to Rimini, went several times to the
Church, and watched as closely as possible. He returned to the Bishop,
and told him that he had heard the whole town affirm the truth of the
miracle, that he had heard thousands of persons declare they had seen it,
but that he must conscientiously declare that he had not. The Bishop, on
hearing this, was in great doubt about the affair, and sent another canon.
.This latter returned, and stated that he had several times witnessed, and as
it were touched, the miracle; that there was no ground for the slightest
doubt on the subject. The Bishop then decided on going himself to verify
the facts. He threw himself on his knees at the feet of the picture ; he
prayed with fervour, and at the end of a few minutes the eyes of the
Madonna opened and shut, and then turned and fixed themselves on him,
and for the space of five minutes, said the Bishop himself, a few days since
at Rome, to one of the most enlightened and most pious of our prelates —
' during five minutes I was able to contemplate the seven wonders of
Paradise ; I was at length compelled to turn away my head, for I could no
longer support what 1 saw.' "
ECCLESIASTICAL INTELLIGENCE.
Allocution. — ^The following is a translation of the allocution of the
Pope, delivered in the Consistory on the 20th of May : —
" Venerable Brethren, — We have had hitherto reason to admire the care
of Divine Providence in defending the Catholic Church ; but in these latter
days we have beheld in a degree more than ever remarkable proofs of that
protection which the Almighty promised to his Church to the end of time.
The world is aware of the lamentable occurrence which drove us in affliction
into exile more than sixteen months ago, and all have been eye witnesses
to the ever to be deplored and awful times when the Prince of Darkness
was permitted to display his rage against the Church and against the
Apostolic See, and was allowed to run riot in this city, the centre of Catholic
truth, to the ineffable sorrow of ourselves and of all good men. But we
are likewise aware how the God of justice and of mercy, 'who striketh and
healeth, giveth death and restoreth life, bringeth down to hell and bringeth
back again,' hath consoled us by the ever present and manifest proofs of
His goodness, and looking with compassion on our prayers and sighs, and
upon the supplications of the whole Church, hath deigned to quell the
tempest and to deliver our most beloved subjects from the miserable state
in which they were, and to restore us to this holy city amidst the joy of the
people and the exultation of the whole Catholic world. In this our first
address to you after our return it is our duty to offer our most grateful
thanks to Divine Providence for so many favours, as well as to bestow
deserved praise upon those powerful nations and princes who were movf d
by Almighty God to render this service to the Holy See, and by their means,
counsels, and arms, to defend the temporal principality of the See and to
restore public peace and order in our city and states.
" Our beloved son Ferdinand II., King of the Two Sicilies, merits the
special tribute of our gratitude, and the most particular mention in our
prayers. As soon as he was acquainted with our arrival at Gaeta, his
Digitized by
Google
322 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
profound piety caused bim at once to fly to our presence, accompanied by
his august consort, Maria Theresa, ana express his satisfaction as bein^
able to afford us proofs of his filia] affection, and respect to the Vicar of
Christ upon earth ; and you yourselves, venerable brethren, have witnessed
the magnificent hospitality with which he received us, and the unceasing
attention which he paid during the whole of our residence. And when
other nations hastened to the protection of our temporal rights, he in person
led his troops to the battle field. The merits of this excellent and pious
prince towards ourselves and the Holy See remain so deeply impressed on
our minds, that nothing can ever remove the pleasing recollection of them
from our memory. In the next place, we must mention with great honour,
and with the pledge of our lasting gratitude, the most noble French nation*
illustrious for its military glory, for its respect to our Apostolic See, as well
as on so many other accounts. That nation and its dignified president*
hastening to our relief, generously sent brave officers and soldiers, who,
through many and serious difficulties, liberated this city from its misery
and prostration, and gloried in bringing us once more within its walls. In
this expression of our gratitude and our praise we must unite our beloved
son Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria, and Apostolic King of Hungary
and Bohemia, who, imitating the example of his ancestors in piety and
reverence to the chair of Peter, instantly despatched his forces to the defence
of our states, and by his victorious arms freed the provinces of the Marches
and Umbria from an illegal and afflicting domination, and restored them to
our lawful authority. Our gratitude is likewise due ia an especial manner
to our much beloved daughter Maria Elizabeth, Queen of Spain, and to her
Government, for, as you are well aware, her first thought upon hearing of
our misfortune was to incite all Catholic nations to defend the cause of the
common Father of the Faithful, and to send her valiant troops to defend the
possessions of the Roman Church. Nor can we pass over in silence the
kindness of other princes not united to the chair of St. Peter, who proved
their attachment towards us, and by their advice and assistance contributed
to the proteqtion and re-establishment of our rights.
"Wherefore we return sincere and well merited thanks, and acknowledge
our gratitude* to them. In this matter we cannot sufficiently admire the
Providence who ruleth in all things in strength and sweetness, and who hath
disposed the hearts of princes not united to the Roman Church, even in
the midst of troubles and bitterness, making them support and maiptaia
her temporal state, which the Sovereign Pontiff has held, by the will of
Almighty God, through so many swicessive ages in just rights in order that
in the government of the universal Cliurch, divinely committed to his
charge, he may exercise his apostolical authority with that liberty which is
necessary for his office and for securing the welfare of the flock of Christ,
We wish to bestow praise and honour upon the ambassadors and agents of
these nations and princes, who proved their good will and affection by
defending us before our departure and by sharing in our exile and Teturn.
We have been so deeplv moved by the many acts of piety, of intense affection,
of devoted respect and abundant liberality, which we have witnessed in the
whole of Christendom, that we could wish, if time would permit, to declare
our gratitude, not only to every city and town, but even to every one of
their inhabitants. Yet we must not pass over the striking and wonderful
proofs of faith, piety, love, and liberality which we have received with so
much gladness from our venerable brethren, the bishops of the universal
Church. Although they were in straits and difficulties, they ceased not to
fulfil their ministry with fortitude and zeal, and to fight the good fight, and,
by their words, by their useful writings, and in their episcopal assemblies,
to defend the cause, rights, and liberties of the Church, and to provide for
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 32S
tfaiB spiritual wantt of their flocks. How can we express our f^ratitude to
Toorselves, yenerable bretbnsn, caidinalt.of the Holy Roman Ghnreh, 'w1k>
Lave afforded us relief aod consolatioiii;' for you have be^ tbe companions
of our afflictioBSy you. have borne trials .with unshaken courage^ and you
were ready to endure the worst for the* honour of the high dii^nity. wdth
which you are invested, and you have never failed to assist us with.your
advice and 'your co««peratk>ii? . Wherefore, since by. th& special. fprouff of
Almighty God, things have been so ordained as that we haw been, enahled
to return to our See, amidst the congratulations of our ^ty ^ird of tha whole
world, it is our first duty to r^um our sincere .thaaks'iit-the'lowiinesa of
our heart to the Father of Mercies^ who hath shown ifais meney to tui,and
to the Immaculate Mother of God, to whose powerftil (intensessionstour
safety is doe. . . ^. .<?,
" So far we have rapidly traced those occurrences which have yielded
pleasure to us, but our supreme office obliges us likewise to meirtion those
thin^fs which trouble us^ and render us anxiouis. You know that a truceless
war IS being waged between light and 'darkness,' truth and error,. viee' md
virtue, Bel£il uid Christ ; and you know with what wicked arts .imd deceits
impious men have laboured to disturb/ and cast down our holy nehgion-^-^to
uproot the germs of every Christian virtue^ and >to «pread leyeiywhereran
unbounded license of thought uid living, and. to affect and corrupt tha
minds of ineaGperienced youth espeeiaUir with every kind of dangerous
errors; and they have endeavoured: ta subv^t all right, human and divine
-^to destroy what is indestructible, the Catholic Church, and to. war against
the Chair of St. Peter. No one can avoid seeing the trials* io which the
fliock of Christ is exposed and the dangers by which society itsdf is threatened.
We must unite together in heart and soul, in watdif!diiess,'seBl;and energy;
to fight well the baktlesi of the Lord and. ta raise up a wsdl forvthe house
of Israel. We ourselves, notwithstanding our sense of weakness,, trasting
to the help of Almighty God, will not be eilent ler Zmui and.wUl net rest
foif. Jerusalem ; and keeping our eyes ever bent upon ou^'LordJous, the
author aud consummator of our tii^h* willi spare neither eare^vor anxie^^
nor labour, to strengthen the temple and repair the afflictioneof therGhuroh,
and provide for the well-being of all, being r^dy even to give oilur life for
thejsake of our dear Lord and for fiis holy Churchv Addressing: all our
venerable brethren, the bishops of Christendom; Sbarbrs in oiir sohcitude^
and congratulating them again upon the labours which liiey ifaave nqbly
undergone for the glory of. Godsmd the salvation: oC >8on)Si we enoourage
them in fearful contest to be united in word and MKnrkvand, strong in the
Lord and in the power. of. His mighty to take-up the biidtler of fhith and
the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God^^and to go forth, as they
have done, in ever increasing zeal, in episdopsll valoofr, .xsonstancy, and
prudence, to £ght boldly &)r our most holy religionvta Withstand the ^efibrte
of our enemies, to beat back .their assaults, and to defend* their flodts from
th&t violence. Let them exhort ecclesiastics especially to >be earnest in
prsyer, fervent in spirit, and edifying in holiness of Mfe^ that they may be
models of good works, full of zeal for the salvation of souls, bound together
in warfare by the closest union of charity; and ready to aiiBoanoe, under
the guidance .of their respective bishops, liie Wdrd^ ot-QoA, Hie law, and
the precepts jq( His .Churdh. Let them urge ec^siastids to expose to
their people the fallacies alnd. deceit of wicked men^and 'to stiow how all
evils flow from sin, and that true happiness can only" be i found in the
keeping of the Divine law, and in the fidelrty with which men fulfil their*
duty, seek virtue, and turn from sin and darkness to the Lord. <
" We invite you to share in over joy, and in ttee consolation wMch we have
received amidst so many isorrows, on account of the decreed lately issued by .
Digitized by
Google
824 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
oar beloTed ton the Emperor of Austria, Francis Joseph, who, followinf^ the
impulse of his owu religious feelings, and yielding to our prayers, and to the
petition of the bishops of his great empire, has acquired a title to glory, and
has gained the applause of all good men by the liberty which he has so
readily and so nobly conceded, through his Ministers, to the Church. We
thank and congratulate this noble Prince for this act, so worthy of a Catholic
Sovereign. We entertain a sure hope that he will complete the good work
that he nas begun, and will cany out his religious designs for the Church.
*' But our joy has been checked by the afflicting and painful accounts
which we have received of the sufferings of the Church in another state, and
of the manner in which her rights and the rights of the Apostolic See are
there trampled upon. We spesk of the kingdom of Piedmont, in which,
as all have gathered from private sources and from public report, a law
injurious to the rights of the Church and contrary to solemn treaties with
the Holy See has been published. Within these last few days we have heard
with profound sorrow how the pious Archbishop of Turin, our venerable
brother, Aloysius Fransoni, has been dragged by a military escort from his
palace, and, to the regret of the city of Turin, and all good men in the king-
dom, confined in the citadeL As our duty and the gravity of the case
required, we hastened to protest, through our Secretary of State, first,
against the law in question, and next, against the violent treatment of that
excellent prelate. We soothe our sorrow by the hope that our efforts
will be crowned with success, and, when circumstances require, we shall not
ful to address another allocution to you respecting the ecclesiastical affiurs
of that kingdom.
" In our paternal solidtude, we must not omit to declare our anxiety when
we consider the dangers of Catholicism in the illustrious kingdom of
Belgium, which has ever been conspicuous for its zeal for the Catholic faith.
We trust, however, that His Majesty the King, and the Government of that
country, ^kHUI, in their wisdom, consider that the Catholic Church and her
teaching conduce to the temporal felicity of nations, and that they will pro-
tect the rights of the Church and support the efforts of the bishops and
ministers of religion.
" As that apostolic charity with which we embrace all nations in Christ
urges us to desire above all things that all men may be united in faith and
in the knowledge of God, we turn to those separated from us in the faith,
and with all the affection and earnestness of our heart we beseech them to
loot to the light of truth, and to come to our holy Church and to the see of
St. Peter, upon which our Lord built His Church.
" Lastly, venerable brethren, let us not cease to pray fervently and con-
stantly to the God of mercy, the giver of all good gifts, that He may be
pleased, through the merits of His only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ,
of His most blessed Mother, and of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and
of all the saints of heaven, to protect and guard His Church, to increase
her triumphs over the whole earth, to shed His graces upon us, to reward
the nations and princes who have deserved well of us, and to grant peace to
the world."
The Rbcbnt Bbatificationb. — On the 1 4th ultimo was held, in the
Throne-room at the Vatican, a General Congregation of Rites, in the
presence of his Holiness, for the cause of the Yen. Germaine Cousin, a shep-
liti ess of Pibrac, in the diocese of Toulouse. Fifteen Consultors and nine
Car inals read their voto in succession, and the Pope registered, with his
own hand, the result of the votes, lliis Congregation is the last before the
dec: ee on the virtues of the servant of God, the proclamation of which is
shot Iv expected. Next come similar proofs as to the miracles, made by the
ante-Preparatory Congregation, at which the Consultors only assist; by
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 325
the Preparatory Congrefifation in which the Consultora and all the Caiv
dinals, members of the Congregation of Rites, take part ; lastly, by the
General Congregation, composed, like that on the 14tn, of the Consultors,
the Cardinals, and his Holiness. Then, if there is ground for it, will be
given the decree on the miracles. When the two decrees on the virtues and
miracles have been given, after years and sometimes centuries of examination,
the Holy Father asks, as a last security, all the Cardinals of the Congrega-
tions, assembled in his presence, whether he can safely proceed to the
Beatification. This last formality took place in the Congregation on the
14th ult., for Father Claver, of the Society of Jesus, whose virtues and
miracles have successfully undergone all the above trials. All the Cardinals
replied Puto procedi posse. Of the two venerable servants of God whom the
Church is about tu raise to veneration one is a simple shepherdess, who lived
unknown, and whose existence was only manifested by the miracles which
are multiplied around her tomb ; the other is a poor rehgious of that society
so persecuted by the world, who consumed his life in a burning climate, in
prison, and in the service of the negroes, the offscouriag of society. Are nojt
these suggestive facts ? — Ami de la Religion.
ACTS OF THE SECRET CONSISTORY, HELD BY HIS HOLINESS POPE
PIUS IX. ON THE 20th MAY.
On the 20th Mav, his Holiness held in the Palace of the Vatican a Secret
Consistory, in which, after an Allocution he proposed the following Churches:
The Metropolitan Church of Ferrara, for his Eminence Cardinal Lodovico
Vannicelli-Casoni, who keeps his presbyteral title of St. Praxedes.
His Eminence demanded the Holy Pallium.
The Metropolitan Church of Prague, in Bohemia, for his Eminence
Cardinal Frederic- Joseph Schwartzenberg, transferred from the Metropolitan
Church of Salzburg, who keeps the presbyteral title of St. Augustine.
llie Metropolitan Church of Conza, to which is annexed the perpetual
administration of the Diocese of Campagna, for the Rev. D. Gregorio de
Luca, Priest of Mileto.
The Metropolitan Church of Brindisi, to which is annexed the perpetual
administration of the Diocese of Osturi, for the Rev. D. Giuseppe Uotondo,
Priest of Capua.
The Metropolitan Church of St. James of Cuba, in the East Indies, for
the Rev. D. Antonio Claret-y-Clai^.
The Archiepiscopal Church of Neocaesarea, inpartibus, for Mgr. Matthew
Eustace Gonella.
The Episcopal Churches of Cittii di Castello, for Mgr. Letterio Turchi,
transferred from Norcia.
Of Calahorra and Calzada, united^ for Mgr. Michael de Yrigoyen^ trans-
ferred from Zamora.
Of Nessi and Sutri, united, for the Rev. D. Caspar Pitorchi.
. Of Norcia, for the Rev. D. Raphael Rachetoni.
Of Castellamare, for the Rev. D. Francio Petagua.
Of Pavia, for the Rev. D. Angelo Rammazotti.
Of Cremona, for the Rev. Dr. (iiuseppe Novasconi.
Of Concordia, for the Rev. D. Angelo Fusinato.
Of Mentz, for the Rev. D. Wilhelm, Baron de Ketteler.
Of Cafrow, for the Rev. D. Joseph de Kunszt.
Of Bosnia and Simium, united, for the Rev. D. Joseph Strossmayer.
Of Temel, for the Rev. D. lago Soler.
Of Lerida, for the Rev. D. Pedro d'Uritz.
. Of Mondonedo, for the Rev. D. Thomas Iglesias-y-Barcones.
Of Fuesdeal, for the Rev. D. Emanuel Manso.
Digitized by
Google
320 MONTHLY INTELLIOENCE.
Of Carthagena* in South America^ for the Rev. D. Pedro Torres.
Of Kherson, newly erected in Russia, for the Rev« Father Fr. Ferdinand
Kahn, of the Order of Friars Preachers. . .
Of Bethsaida, in partibus, (oiWia Rev. Raphael Carh'onelli.
Of Rosa, tsi partibus, for the Rev. D>' Giovanni Bochenski.
Of Dulma, in partihus, for the Rev. D. Balthasar Schitter.
The instance for the Holy FaHiiim was then made to hie Holiness for the
Metropolitan Churches of Prague^ of Conza, of Brindisi, of St. James of
Cuba, of Armagh, in favour of M^r. CuUen, Primate of Ireland; and for
the Episcopal Church of Pavia.
CoMPLiMBNts BBTW1SBN SiSTEitCHURCHBs. — The Annual Conference
of Pastors or' Preachers of the Prussian Evangelic Church has just been
held ; it has voted an address of congratulation and support to the Bishop
of Exeter for his conduct in the ** Gorham Case/' as they consider it a pre-
cedent deserving of imitation. It is singular that the party in the English
Church most nearly approaching the German Evangelists is that most
strongly opposed to the Right Rev. Prelate and his school of doctrine ; but
the anomaly may be, perhaps, explained by the admiration the dergy of a
Church bound hand and foot by the State, and subjected in everything to
the orders of a lay Minister of State, feels for an instance in which a digni-
tary of the Church has exercised an independent authority. The address is
an indirect protest against the power of any government in ecclesiastical
matters, which the clergy in Prussia cannot openly attack ; the indifference
of the bulk of the citizens not only to the Church, but to nearly all religious
doctrine, would afford them no support in such a conflict. Any imitation
of the Bishop of Exeter in Prussia would have no legal means of opposing
the Government, and if he began a conflict would be suspended, if he per-
sisted, arrested by order of the Minister of Public Worship. Whether the
doctrine of Baptism, held by the German Protestant Churdi, is the same as
that laid down by the Bishop of Exeter, the assembled Pastors have not,
perhaps, minutely discussed^ — Berlin Correspondent of the Times.
^ Canonization of Pbter Clavbr, S.J. — The Indies or Carthagena.:
Decree of the Beatiflcation and Canonization of the Yen. servant of God,
Peter Claver, professed Priest of the Society of Jesus. — On the dubiatnt;
'* Whether, after approbation of the virtues and of two miracles, the Beati.
fictation of the Yen. servant of God .may be safely proceeded wicti V*
Almighty God, who most wisely rules and governs the vicissitudes of thinijrt,
bath most fittingly, by successive delays intervening' in His secret counsel,
reserved up to this age the honours of Beatitude in the case of hisiYea*
servant, reter' Claver, professed Priest of the Society of Jesus, . and
Missionarv Apostolic, who departed this life nearly two centuries 9^0^
although ne was even then illustrious' for his virtues and miracles. For
although it is the nature of men, almost neglecting more ancient examplea
to apply their mind more easily to new ones, at this time assuredly; when so
many degenerate sons of the Church, in order to tear to pieces its. unity,
which they dread, are attempting to withdraw,, by a false opinion of their
power, the Ministers of Christ from the obedience of the Holy See, it was of
very great importance to propose the Yen. Peter for imitation, who,, belong-
ing to an illustrious society, and charged with an Apostolic office, ever
singularly honouring the Sovereign' Pontiff, and, above all, reverencing his
supreme power, not only brought back degenerate sons to him, but in due
order, and most humbly exercising the power given to him by the Divine
Institution, he even snatched from infidelity and added new children to the
Church, thus imparting to his brethren expelled, dispersed, and assailed
with contumely, new strength, with greater alacrity to discharge their ofi£ce.
Since, therefore, the virtues of the Yenerable Peter, which formerly
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 827
appeared illastrioiis to holy men and were celebrated by the prtdsea of knaby,
wei-e, upon a legitimate judgment of the same, declared to be heroic, bv
Pope Benedict XIV., on September 24tb» 1747 ; and our most holy lord.
Pope Pius IX., declared, on August 27th, 1848, that Heaven had witnessed
to' them by two miracles nothing remained but that, according to custom,
the Fathers of the Congregation of Sacred Rites should lie interrogated,
whether they thought he might be safely enrolled in the list of the Blessed.
And when this was receotly done — ^viz., on May 14th, in a General Assembly
in Vatican, held in presence of the Sovereign Pontiff himself-^the applause
and acclamation of all who were present followed. Nevertheless, the
Sovereign Pontiff Pius willed to defer the matter, that the time for his
obtaining the Divine light by prayer might not be abridged ; yet not so as to
pass over this most sweet season, which intervenes between the Resurrection
of our Lord and the Descent of the Holy Ghost, but that at the very time
when our Saviour, discoursing with His apostles concerning the kingdom of
God, in them fortified and informed by His exhortations all the future
Ministers of the Church healthfully to feed the flock committed to their
charge ; at that very time, we say, the great glory that awaits those who
nobly fulfil that office should be shown forth by enrolling Venerable Peter
among the blessed. Wherefore on this day, being Trinity Sunday, there
being assembled in the Chapel of Pope Sixtus IV., at the Vatican, the Most
Reverend Cardinals Aloysius Lambruschini, Bishop of Porto, Sta. Rufina
and Civita Vecchia, Prefect of the Congregation of Sacred Rites ; Constan-
tine Patrizi, Bishop of Albano, Vicar of the City of Rome, and Reporter of
the Cause ; the Rev. Father Andrea-Maria Frattini, Promoter of the Holy
Faith ; along with me, the undersigned Secretary, after offering' unto God
the Sacrifice of the New Covenant, he solemnly pronounced, *' lliat the
beatification of the venerable servant of God, Peter Claver, might safely be
proceeded with ;'' and ordered that apostolical letters, in the form of a brief,
should be drawn up concerning the same beatification, to be celebrated at
fitting season in the Vatican Patriarchal Basilica. And he ordered this
decree to be published and deposited in the Acts of the Congregation of
Sacred Rites, on the 126th May, 1850.
Aloysius, Cardinal Lambruschini, Bishop of Porto,
Sta. Rufina and Ci vita Vecchia, Prefect of the S.C.R.
J. G. Fatati, Sec. of the S.C.R.
Locus lit Sigilli. Tablet.
Pastoral Letter. — Nicholas, by the Grace of God, and the favour of
the Apostolic See, Bishop of Melipotamus, and Vicar Apostolic of the Lon-
don District, to our dearly beloved Children ih Christ, the Laity of the
London District: Health and Benedicti(»n in our Lord.^— It has been most
becomingly ap))ointed by the Vicars-Apostolic of England, that the generatl
collection, throughout ail their Districts, on behalf of the Poor School Com-
mittee, should be made on the Feast of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus;
And this selection has been confirmed by the authoritative and paternal
sanction of our Sovereign Pontiff, who has granted for that day the Indul-
gences announced to you on Sunday last. And in truth, dearly beloved in
Christ, what 'could be a more appropriate day for a general, a combined, a
Catholic act of spiritual mercy and charity, than thut on which the Church
sums up and symbolizes in the Heart nf Jesus, all that He has done and
suffered for the salvation of souls ? lliis indeed is the purpose and the
feeling of this festival, lately conceded to us in this country. Whatever the
teaching of science may be, it wiU never divest mankind of the idea, or the
instinct, that the heart is connected with our inward affections ; that it is
warm in the kind and loving, and cold in the selfish and liitgenerous ; that
it is hard in the oppressor, fluttering in the anxious, laint inlihe cowardly,
Digitized by
Google
828 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
calm in the virtuotia. To speak of the heart is to speak of the passions, the
emotions, the sympathies of man : it embodies our ideas of tenderness, of
compassion, of gentleness, of forgiveness, of long suffering, and of every
sweet variety of love. For there the child, the parent, the spouse, the friend
finds his specific kind of holy aff'i'Ction. It is the well-spring whence they
all gush out, and manifest themselves in action and in word : '*for out of
the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh."* And if that abundance
is to be measured by that which flows abroad, what shall we find of treasured
bounty, mercy, grace, and love, in the Sacred Heart of Him, whose love
redeemed us, and continues to enrich us with gifts of eternal value ? Who
shall presume to fathom, or to measure this abyss of love ? Who shall "be
able to compreli«nd, what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth''
of this "charity of Christ, which surpasseth all knowledge ?''t So soon as
the Word incarnate appeared on earth, that blessed Heart began to beat ia
love, and gave at e^ery pulse a homage to God, more valuable and more
acceptable than that of the celestial spheres, moving in their order and
beauty. And all this was given up at once to man. To whatever manifes-
tation of Godlike and Divine excellence It impelled Him, whether to mighty
works, or to lowly disguises, whether to glorious triumphs, or to abject suf-
fering, all, all was for us ; ever var3ring, ever inexhaustible, ever unthought
of, workinj{S of that one principle of love : fruit of every sweetness springing
from one Tree of Life. Through the now closing cycle of our annual festi-
vals, we have contemplated the love of Jesus for man, step by step, and form
by form. First it was shrouded in the charms, and almost the blandish-
ments of infancy; it was winning, it was enticing, it was softening; but
seemed almost inactive. . We contemplated Him as fair, gentle, amiable;
His infant glance. His speechless lips. His helpless frame appealed with a
natural eloquence to our hearts, when we remembered that, inert as tliey
appeared in our regard, they were in Him, but a disguise that covered a
boundless love for man. Then we approached Him, as He trod the path of
labour, pain and sorrow: we saw hands hardened with toil, and brow
bedewed with the sweat of Adam's curse ; a frame attenuated with long
fasting in a desert, feet wearied with rough travel, a head un rested by a
pillow, unsheltered by a roof. Then came before us a scene of suffering
more systematic, more universal, more intense : when pain and torture were
not consequences of actions and joumeyings and privations, undertaken or
borne for love : but were direct inflictions coveted and loved on its account.
Here we saw anguish and a^ony, and the rending of every tie of hfe, strong
or tender, of that which breaks only with excruciating violence, as of that
which easily snaps, but with exquisite torture; filial love, brotherly affection,
fatherly tenderness all rudely torn in His bosom ; and the bonds of gratitude,
reverence, almost adoration of a fickle people sundered from His still loving
-Heart. And in His body we contemplated the head crowned with thorns,
the hands and feet transfixed, the body gashed and livid with lashes, every
limb quivering in convulsion. At length we came to see Him burst througn
His rocky sepulchre, radiant with splendour; dart like a heavenly meteor
firom place to place, penetrate the closed doors, cheer and console His dis-
ciples: and then ascend to His Father's Right Hand, amidst angelic greetings.
And last of all we meet Him, now as then, in the wonderful Mystery of
Love, in. which aU the marvels of love displayed in His Life are concentrated ;
from the lowliness of the Infant, to the immolation of the Victim, and the
glorification of Humanity— in the Eucharist, ever blessed, ever adorable.
And while we follow Him thus, as a giant, exulting through His career of
« Matt. zii. ^. t Epbee. iii. 18, 19.
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 821)
Love, all that is external and visible, changing, and sliiftingf forms ; what
gives to the whole unity, and identity ; what brings Him before us as the
same yesterday and to-day, where resides the unchanging principle of all
these phases of His existence in our lower firmament? One Heart,
unchangeable within that kingly abode, continued from its first beat, to
throb with unvarying charity, sweet yet strong, gentle yet irresistible. It
gave equal life, vigour and intensity to every stage and every state of His
being. It beat as steadily in the Child as in the Man ; in the Manger as on
the Cross, when Mary felt It gently knock against her own Heart, as when
John leaning on His bosom, felt Its throes of life, at His last Feast. It is
this that binds together the vaj'ious aspects of His human form ; the infant's
radiant eye, the youth's toiling, hand, the Master's winning lips, the Holo-
caust's wreathed Head. To each in its turn the Heart sent forth its streams
of life, with Him but streams of Love. And to each function of charity It
administered its fitting agent: from that Heart were furnished those tears
wherewith He wept over the unrepenting ; that mysterious dew which started
from His pores as He lay prostrate in Gethsemani ; that full flow of sacred
Blood, which poured out from the four great wounds on Calvary ; that
mystical stream of regeneration which issued from His blessed side, pierced
by the lance. And His death even, what was it, but the very breaking and
bursting of the sacred Vessel itself, that not one drop of its divine treasure
might be withheld from man ? Theo, assuredly, in that Heart we may see
collected, and presented, as in one holy symbol, the immensity of the love
of Jesus for us ; and sum up in this one festival — ^the epilogue of our fuller
commemorations — all that He hath suffered and done for us poor sinners,
that me might be saved. For here, as in a mirror which concentrates the
rays from every side, we look upon all united in a smaller space, though not
for that less clear and bright. Or we may consider it as a deep and fathom-
less gulf of pure and stillest water, which, while it is in its depths unsearch-
able, yet reflects for that more accurately all that has grown, from its
fertilizing power, around it. And in either, he who gazes shall not fail to
see himself, as the first and clearest object. Yes, there he truly is, in the
very Heart of Jesus ! From whatever side any of us looks into It, in the
midst of Its sweetnesses. Its mercies, Its pangs. Its agonies, — ^he beholds
himself present; ever there, thought of, cared for, loved so tenderly and so
prominently as to be the first seen ! Then, who will not love and adore
that Sacred Heart, so full of us, so rich for us I Fountain of redemption,
source of salvation, spring of life, abyss of love ! Heart so pure, so sinless,
so holy ; so gentle, so meek, and so benign ; so sparing, so merciful, so
gracious ; so tender, so loving, so endearing ; so noble, so generous, so
magnificent; so royal, so heavenly, so divine! Seat and throne of every
virtue, of every excellent quality, of every sublimest attribute ! All hail ! in
this our festival of charity, be to us and tn our little ones, a shield, a shelter
and a home ! For, dearly beloved in Christ Jesus, where could we have
found a truer model, or a higher principle, on which to frame and conduct
the education of our children, than this all-holy and most innocent Heart
which, from childhood upwards, ever throbbed in love of God and man ?
Who would not rejoice to see these little ones grow up, each to be *'a man
according to God's own Heart" ? And what is Catholic education, but a
striving after this moulding of the yet tender and pliant heart to this
heavenly form ? What surer pledge of future virtue could you destre,
than to see the pupils of your schools trained in that higher school of love,
whereof the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the type ; in the docility and meek-
ness, the obedience and industry, the piety and innocence which it repre-
sents ? And as for yourselves, beloved children, who have so justly confided
the applicatiou of your chaiity for this purpose to the Committee of your
Digitized by
Google
830 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
Poor-SchooTs, under what better patronage do you, or can you, wisli to
place the holy work, than under that of your Saviour, viewed in this aspect of
the untiring lover of perishing man, — of Him who has loved you better than
His life, and haa wished you to requite to these His special uivourites, what
you owe to Him i Nor can you fear that your charity will not be beneficially
applied through this channel. During the last two years, the schools of
this District have received support-grants to the amount of £1,212 from the
funds of the Committee ; besides building-grants to the extent of £840,
making a total of £2,052. We know that several schools could not have
been opened, and others could not have been earned on, without this timely
assistance. This Committee has been distinguished since its foundation, by
its prudence, its impartiality, and by its practical utihty. Its exertions have
not only increased the number, but have greatly improved the state, of our
schools. It has been an engine and instrument of unmingled good ; and
we consider it as one of the greatest means of salutary progress sent us by
Divine Providence. Then we most earnestly exhort you, by the loving
mercies and compassion of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to contiibute to the
extent of your power towards the funds of this institution ; which established
an additional clum on your support, every year of its existence ; for every
year further tests the solidity of its pinciples, and the usefulness of ita
practice. Take heart then l^is day, ana give as you wish God to requite you.
How powerful, how efBcacioas, will the prayers of so many thousands of
Christ's favourites be, warmly sent up for you I How sweet the ofiering of
their holy communion 1 How, if we may so speak, the Lamb of God will
love to see Himself led by the innocent and guileless, with the garlands of
simple affection which they throw about Him, to the very footof the Throne,
round which the martyred children of Bethlehem play;* that there, with
unspotted hands, they inav beg acceptance of Him, for you their benefactors !
The Church too unlocks .the treasury which she keeps in that ever inexhausti*
ble Heart, and offers you her spiritual gifts, as your future pledge and pre-
sent reward. Make then this day doubly hol]^, doubly consecrated. Honour with
devotion the Sacred Heart of Jesus; iniitate incharity the lovewhichlt borejou.
Charity for man is the special characteristic virtue of the Feast, spiritual
charity; love for man, but love for his soul. And be assured, that as you cannot
better practise this, than by exerting yourselves, and making sacrifices, to pro«>
cure the blessings of a sound religious education for your poorer brethren, so
your alms will be cast this day into a better treasury than that of the temple
built with hands; into the temple of the heavenly Jerusalem, which is "the
Lamb"t whose treasury of grace is His adorable Heart. You will not merely
be " shutting up your alms in the heart of the poor,'*:^ as the Old Testament
exhorts you ; but you will at the same time be placing them in the Heart of
the Most-rich^ and the Most-bountiful, though He too became poor for love.
Yes you will be casting them into that glowing furnace of love, where b1\ is
purified, and comes forth again, no longer dross, but that refined and sterling
gold, from which alone crowns of bliss and glory are made for the heads,
phials of sweet odour for the hands, of charity's Saints in heaven. — ^''llie
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."§
Given in London this ninth Day of June, being the Feast of the Sacred
Heart of Jesus, in the Year of our Lord, mdcccl.
Nicholas, Bishop of Mblipotamus.
%• Contributions and Collections may be sent directly to the Secretary of
the Poor School Committee, 18, Nottingham Street, London. Post-Office
* Hymn for H. Innocents,
t Apoc. xxi. %2. t Bccliis. xxxix. 15. {. Apoc. xxii. 21.
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 331
Orders should be made in the name of Scott Nasmyth Stokes, at the
above address.
^^ The tifro Retreats for the Clergy will this year begin on Monday
the 7th and Monday the 14th of July. They will be conducted^ one by
the Rev. F. Petcherine^ the other by the Rev. F. Gaudentius.
i>ARLIAMENTARY RECORD.
HousB OF Commons..
31st may. — SUPPLY. — GRANT TO MAYNOOTB.
On bringing tip the report of supply.
Mr. ForbbS objected to the new grant of £18,096 for the College of
Maynooth^ and moved the reduction of £1,244 for the purpose of making
the vote £i6,fe52.
Mr. PLUMPTftB understood that the £30,000 which had been voted was
likely to be Very far exceeded, and would amounts to £50,000.
The house then divided, when there appeared —
For the vote ..« r 6B
Against it ... ... * 55
Mayority. — 13
Lord J. Chichbstbr complained that, owing to the strings of one of the
bells having beeii broken, honourable members had not Si received the
usual intimation previbus to a division. (Laughter.) He wished to know
whether there would be any opportunity of rectifying the error. (Renewed
laughter.
The house then adjourned at two o'clock.
WEDNBSDAY, JUNE 5. — EDUCATION BILL.
The debate on the second reading of Mr. Fox's Educational Bill^(a4Jonmed
on the 17th of April) was then resumed by
Mr. An STB Y, who expressed his cordial concurrence in the principle of
the bill as a wise and liberal measure.
Mr. Wood defended the educational foundations connected with the
Church of England. '
' Mr. M. Gibson said iihere was no question in which the working classes
took :a deeper interest than that of unsectarian education. If Parliament
made school attendance compulsory upon persons employed in factories as
a* condition of earning bread, it ought to provide schools, at the expense of
tiie obnununity, which all religious denominations could attend. He did
not approve of giving the Privy Council power to levy rates in support of
schools ; he wismsd the power to be permissive only. He was not indifferent
to religious education, but that was left where it is by the bill, which did
not antearfere with the machinery for rdigions education. Secular instruction
was not the province or fiincticm of the Church ; if it was, what a reproach
would it be td the' Church that forty per cent, of the adult population of
England and Wales could tint write tiieur names in the marriage registers !
' Mr. Napcbr argued against the bill.
Mr. Fox repeated^some of the fiBcts he had stated on introducing the bill,
showing the deficiency of ediication in the country. Theological teachiagi
nnaccdmpanied liy expansion of the intellect and amelioration of the hearty
took no root and produced no harvest. The divisions prevuling amongst
educational bodies provdd that kmiething more was riequislte to keep
edncatiota from retrograding, as it was realty doii[ig in some districts. He
denied that the terms '^secular" and '' religions'' were antith^cally opposed^
He regard^ religiQua and secular instruction as auxiliary to eiach others
Digitized by
Google
832 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
tbey could not be combined wbilst so many diversities of opinion existed in
matters of religion.
Mr. MuNTZ followed in support of the bill.
The house divided, when the motion for the second reading was negatived
by 287 against 58, so that the biU is lost.
JUNE 7. — METROPOLITAN INTERMENTS BILL.
Mr. Bright thought the incessant attacks on the undertakers were
scarcely justified. Were there not exorbitant charges in other trades?
The exorbitant nature of undertakers' bills arose from the foolish pride,
the vanity, of people in ordering expensive funerals.
The Earl of Arundel and Surrey knew no reason why the hon.
member for Manchester should impute vanity to those who endeavoured
to show their affection and respect for their deceased relations and friends.
(Hear, hear.) He might as well impute to vanity (as he had heard it
imputed) the straight formal dress by which the sect of which the hon.
gentleman was a member chose to distinguish themselves from the rest of
the community. (Much cheering.) So far from condemning it, he thought
the feeling which prompted the putting on of black clothes when a beloved
friend or relative was removed by death, was deserving of respect and
commendation — (renewed cheers) — and it was his belief that when respect
for the dead entirely ceased, very little respect would be paid to the living.
Mr. T. DuNCOMBB wished to ask the noble lord the member for Bath
what was the reduction he expected to effect in the price of funerals ? Now,
what would the noble lord do it for? (Laughter.) Here was Mr.
Shillibeer's scale — a nobleman's funeral, thirty guineas; a gentleman's^
not a nobleman^s — (*'Hear, hear," and a laugh)y-ten guineas; and an
artisan's, four guineas, and no extra charge if within ten miles of London.
Now what was the noble lord's scale ? (" Hear," and laughter.)
Lord Ashley said that the Board of Health would find parties ready
to enter into contracts at twenty- five or thirty per cent, below the charges
now exacted from the public. (Hear, hear.)
218T JUNE. — EDUCATION.^IRELAND.
Mr. Sheil. — I assure the hon. and learned gentleman, the member for
Dublin University, that, in my opinion, no system of education would deserve
the name of '^ national '' to which the Protestants of Ireland could justly
object. So far from being disposed to do them any the least injustice,!
entertain for my Protestant fellow-citizens a more than compatriot sentiment.
Do not listen to me with incredulity. When I reflect upon the great things
which have been achieved by the Protestants of Ireland — when I consider
how much genius, how much wisdom, how much eloquence, how n^uch virtue,
and how much valour, how many great statesmen, great writers, great
thinkers, great speakers, and most surpassing soldiers have issued from a
minority so comparatively small, I cannot withhold my admiration ; and let
me add, that gratitude is associated with admiration when I recollect that
there was not a single illustrious Irish Protestant born within the last century
who did not take part with his Catholic fellow-countrymen, and plead the
cause of Catholic enfranchisement. (Cheers.) Influenced by these feelings,
I deprecate as strenuously as any man here can do the infliction of the slightest
wrong to the religious feelings of the Protestants of Ireland. I have
accordingly anxiously considered whether there existed any well-founded
Protestant objection to the National Board. I say " weU -founded objection,''
because where religious qualms take an acquisitive turn, and it is from the
Chancellor of the Exchequer that the members for the University of Dublin
Yequire spiritual consolation ^-Ibud laughter), it is only reasonable to ask
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 333
whether their fears for the integrity of the Protestant faith hav« anj
substantial ground ? (Laughter). After a good deal of consideration, and
after having given due weight to all that has been urged against the National
Board, I have, I own, come to the conclusiun that the apprehensions are
wholly visionary, by which the Parliamentary conscience of the members for
the University of Dublin are periodically perturbed. (Laughter.) I do not
believe that the great body of the Protestants of Ireland participate in their
alarm. I am convinced that the majority of the proprietors of Ireland
appreciate, as they ought to do, the advantages which accrue from the
knowledge which is everywhere disseminated through the National Board-
that they feel that every school is the source of social and moral improvement;
a little well, from which **" fresh instruction " is poured over minds that would
otherwise lie waste and sterile. (Cheers.) The Presbyterians of Ireland,
who are fully as sensitive in everything that concerns the usage uf the sacred
writings as the Episcopalians are said to be, support the board. The hon.
and learned gentleman holds the Presbyterians in no account. He also
complained that the member for Ripon had insinuated that the clergy of the
Established Church were under the influence of those temporal inducements
which are held out by the Mosaic system as the reward of virtue (loud
laughter), told us that, by a remarkable coincidence^that RegiumDonum was
increased when the Presbyterian body entered into a connexion with the
National Board. (Loud Cheers.) I suppose that the hon. and learned
gentleman is inclined to apply to any Cabinet Minister Swift's character
of one of his antagonists, "As to region the fellow had none, but was in all
other respects an excellent Presbyterian." (I^ud laughter.) If the majority
of the Episcopalian clergy are hostile to the board, several of the most
distinf^uished Ecclesiastics in Ireland are its allies. The Archbishop of Dublin,
a theologian without rancour, who, notwithstandingsome academic peculiarity,
is equal to a whole host of sacerdotal mediocrities who have votes in Trinity
College (loud cheers), is the champion of the National Board. He supports
and he adorns the noble structure of which the foundations were laid by Lord
Stanley. That nobleman is the father of the system of national education,
and of his progeny, in the figurative as well as the literal sense, he has reason
to be proud. (Loud cheers.) He was Secretary for Ireland in 1831, and a
member of the Cabinet. He was, consequently, master of the country. It
was then that, to his lasting honour, he. devised and constructed the system
of national education. He took a just and most essential care to associate
religious with secular instruotion; to graft, if I may so say, the tree of
knowledge with the tree of life.
I am surprised, that considering the Protestant clergy take an oath on
their ordination to keep a school to teach English, they do not conceive it
to be morally obligatory upon them to attend a school to teach the Gospel.
I am afraid that they are prevented from aitending by the equality on which
they would be put with the Catholic clergy, sind that they regard that level
as inconsistent with the pre-eminence awarded them by the law. (Loud cheers.)
But, whatever be the cause, I do not think that any case has been made for
supplying this omission by a grant of money from the tSLxns levied on the
English people. We are told, indeed, that the Catholic schools in England
receive pecuniary aid. If the Catholics of England had retained any portion
of those vast endowments made by their forefathers the case would be
parallel, but is it because relief is doled out to Lazarus that by Dives from
the midst of his gorgeousness the hand of mendicant supplication is to be
held out? It is not from the revenues of the state, but from the temporid
abundance of the church, that any grant of money for schools in connexion
with the Established Church should be made. I can refer the members for the
University of Dublin to a recent and remarkable precedent, Seventeen or
VOL. XI. 2 A
Digitized by
Google
834 MONTHLY INT£LLiaENCE.
^S^hteen years a^o the University of Durb&m was founded under an Act of
Parliament, by the appropriation of a part of the property belonging to the
cathedral. (Cheers.) I have the charter of the University of Durham here; it
recites an Act of Parliament, entitled "An Act to enable the Dean and
Chapter of Durham to appropriate " — ^mark, " appropriate " (loud cheers),
" part of the property of their church to establish an university in connexion
therewith for the advancement of learning." I need read no mure. I have
furnished a complete precedent to the hon. and learned urcntleman. (Lioud
cheers.) If he should act upon it and come to this House with a prayer
from the Irish clergy to allocate a part of the revenues of the Established
Church to the aid of schools connected with the church, we shall listen to
the suggestion with great interest, and perhaps with some surprise. (LAughter.)
But such a proposition as is now made must be heard with disrelish ; and I
hope I shall be pardoned for saying, that a Scriptural image of avidity is
presented to my fancy when, gorged but insatiate, an Irish Churchman cries
out, *^ Give, ffive." But the House of Commons will not give. It will pro-
tect the noble institution which Lord Stanley founded, which Sir Robert
Peel, with Lord Stanley as his colleague, so largely amplified, and which,
let me add, has recently received the hij^hest and the most signal sanction.
Amongst the many remarkable incidents by which the scijourn of the Queen
in Ireland was distinguished, perhaps one of the most touching, was the
visit paid, immediately after her arrival in Dublin, to the model school of the
National Board, to which precedence over the University of Dublin was given.
It was a fine spectacle to see the Queen, with her illustrious Consort, who
is so worthy of her, attended by the representative of the Presbyterian
Church, and the Catholic and Protestant Archbishops of Dublin, — ^to see
those venerable ecclesiastics, united by the bond of a common Christianity
(loud cheers), in the performance of that office of sacred charity which
Christianity so divinely teaches ; to see the Sovereign of this great empire
in the midst of hundreds of little children, whose gaze of affectionate
amazement she returned with looks of almost maternal love (cheers) ; and,
above all, it was thrilling to behold her countenance radiating with emotion,
while her heart beat with the high and holy hope— that of a wise, a moral,
and religious system of eddcation she may live to witness the mature and
perfect products. (Loud and continued cheers.)
CONVERSIONS.
"Perversions. — We find \n the Catholic Maffazine,'pVLhhahed on Friday,
the following paragraph : — * We understand that the Rer. W. Dodsworth.
perpetual curate of Christchurch, St. Pancras, has resigned his incumbency,
with the intention of joining the Catholic Church.' Rumours to this effect
have been flying about for some days past, but we feared to give currency
to them until some sort of confirmation appeared. This open declaration
in a Popish periodical is the best sort of proof that is attainable. Having
alluded to the subject, we may add that it is very positively stated by the
iriends of the parties, that Mr. H. W. Wilberforce, brother of the Bishop of
Oxford, and Mr. Allies, late chaplain to the Bishop of London, have come
to a similar determination." — Times,
'* The Rbv. Mr. Dodsworth. — ^A London clergyman was alluded to in
a former communication, as one respecting whom much painM apprehension
was felt, lest the recent proceeding in our Church Courts — or^conrts, at
least, which claim to have a Church authority — should drive him to Rome.
Mr. Dodsworth, it is said, with others, feels that the Church of England
was scandalised by a late decision on a question involving matters of doctrine,
with which, they think, the Church herself is alon& competeat to deal. But
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELtlGENCR. 835
he will not, as it was feared he would, go over to Rome. Leave the Esta-
blished Church of England it is understood she will certainly do, but not to
join the Romish communion — justly conceiving that, whatever there may be
defective in our own system, it will not serve to constitute the Romish
system right, whether as to doctrine or disci]>line% He has determined
therefore to renounce all idea — if ever he entertained any— of joining the
Church of Rome ; but proposes, it is now said, to connect himself with the
Church of Scotland. It will be remembered that Mr. Dodsworth was some
short time since offered the bishopric of Glasgour, which he decKned ; but it
is not unlikely that, should he carry his intention of joining that Church
into effect, he wiU yet he one of her bishops, should a suitable opportunity
offer. [The above is from tlie * Oxford Herald.' We have heard of some
gentlemen among the laity in this part of the country who have expressed
more than half an inclination to turn over to the Church of Scotland, having
their faith in the Church of England so greatly outraged by the late decision
in re Gorham." — Ed. Prnvimial Paper.]
Secessions. — ^Tbe Rev. George Case, M.A., of Brazennose College*
Oxford, has joined the Church of Rome. The " Oxford Herald," which is
generallv well informed on such subjects, gives credit to a report of the
approaching secession of the Rev. Henry Wilberforce, M. A., of Oriel College^
Oxford, and rector of East Farleigh ; and of the well known Rector of
Launton, Oxfordshire, late chaplain to the Bishop of London^ There are
rumours also in circulation that a distinguished Tractarian Archdeacon is
about to withdraw from the ministry of the Church of England.
We have good authority for stating that two Protestant ladies were
received into the Church a few days since, by his Lordship the Right Rev.
Dr. Wiseman. — Catholic Standard,
A letter in the Catholico of Genoa, written from Jerusalem, announces
that 150 families of Armenian schismatics had been converted to the Catholic
religion at Andana, near Tarsus, in Asia Minor.
Numerous conversions have taken place, in Australia, chiefly through
the instrumentality of monks of the Order of St. Benedict, which numbers
an archbishop, and four bishops of that country among its members, besides
many zealous missionaries. — Philadelphia Catholic Herald.
Great Marlow. — I beg to inform you that Miss L. A. Lechmere,
daughter of Sir Edmund Lechmere, Bart, and Lady Lechmere, and cousin
to the Bishop of Rochester, has been received into the Church, in London,
by the Rev. Father Ludwig The conversion of this accomplished young
lady was announced in the Tablet three years ago, but her actual reception
into the Church was prevented then by circumstances most painful to her,
and over which she hsul no control. — Tablet,
MISCELLANEOUS.
St. Cuthbert's College, Ushaw. — On Sunday week last, the Rev.
Charles Teebay,and T. Spencer, of Preston, and the Rev. Edward Swar-
brick of Garstang, were ordained priests for the Lancashire district.
The Gorham Case. — ^Arrangements have been made for holding a great
public meeting of the clergy and laity of the Church of England on the 27th
inst., for the adoption of certain resolutions with reference to the late decision
of the Judicial Committee in the case of ** Gorham v. the Bishop of Exeter,"
and the consequences arising therefrom. The meeting is looked forward to
with much interest by what is generally termed the High Church Party, the
principal men connected with which will be present to take part in the
proceedings. The promoters ajre anxious to secure the countenance and
Digitized by
Google
336 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
support of all who feel that a tacit acquiescence by the Chiirch of England
in the recent decision of the Privy Council would be an "unspeakable"
misery. An address to the Throne will be submitted to the meetinpr, setting
forth the Church's rights as to spiritual freedom, reminding Her Majesty of
the declaration prefixed to the Articles of Religion, and praymg therefore the
Royal license that convocation may be summoned for the express purpose of
vindicating or authoritatively declaring the doctrine of the Church of England
on Holy Baptism. There will also be submitted a memorial to the episcopate
of the two provinces, including the colonial bishops, as being technically in the
province of Canterbury, and an address to the bishops of Scotland expressive
of thankfulness and confidence. The day is to open with the celebration of
the most solemn ecclesiastical offices in several London churches, and those
who purpose taking part in the meeting will be invited to attend service
either at Westminster Abbey or St. Paul's Cathedral. Many of the highest
ecclesiastical dignitaries have expressed approval of the proposed course of
proceeding, and have intimated their intention of being present at the
meeting. — Times .
St. Andrew's Catholic Chapel, Leyland. — On Sunday last two
sermons were preached in St Andrew's Catholic Chapel, Leyland, by the
Rev. C. Kershaw, O.S.B., of Lawkland, near Settle. The rev. gentleman
advocated, with great eloquence, the cause of this new mission, of which the
Rev, T. M. Shepherd is the zealous pastor. The sum of £15. was contributed
towards its support. The Brownedge choir attended, and Mr. J. Walker
presided at the pianoforte. A new church or chapel would be a great boon
to the Catholic congregation of this place. — Preston Guardian,
Preston. — ^The Rev. William Knight. — A great number of our
Catholic readers in this town will hear with feelings of regret that the Rev.
William Knight has been removed from St Ignatius's Church to fill the office
of Vice-President or Minister at Stonyhurst College. The rev. gentleman,
who has resided in Preston eleven years, was sincerely beloved and respected
by his numerous flock. Always ready to assist the distressed, ever assiduous
in his sacred ministry, the Catholics of Preston will lose a zealous missionary,
and the poor a helper and a friend. — Preston Guardian.
The Fruits op Heresy. — A new sect, calling themselves, " Free
Gospellers/' has sprung up in Preston. The people belonginj( to it formed
a portion of the Primitive Methodists, Silias Ranters, but have lately seceded
from that body. The Preston Chronicle, a Protestant paper, may well ask —
"what next?"
Incumbents and Curates. — According to a Parliamentary paper
printed yesterday, the last diocesan returns show 7,779 resident incumbents,
and 3,094 non-resident. There are 7,917 glebehouses, and 1 1,611 benefices.
The number of assistant-curates to incumbents is 2,998, with stipends vary-
ing from £ 10 a-year to £300. The largest number in one class (940) receive
£100, and under £110.
Roman Catholic Church, Penrith. — This edifice was commenced
in March, 1849> and completed about three months ago. It is a building
in the ancient pointed Gothic style. Mr. W. Atkinson, of Carlisle, is the
architect, and Mr. William Hodgson, of Penrith, the builder. There is a
dome in the west, containing one small bell. The windows are of stained
glass, and the chancel window is remarkable for its chaste elegance. In
this window are six principal compartments, in each of which is a repre-
sentation of a scripture piece. On the bottom of the window is an
inscription, of which the following is a copy : — ^"Orate pro anima Catherinae
Throgmorton, hujus ecclesiae fundatoris.*' The altar is of stone, and fitted
up with great taste and neatness. On the wall on the west side of the
church are plates bearing inscriptions. The following is a copy of one of
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 837
them : — ''Of your cbarity pray for the soul of Catherine Lady Throckmorton,
late of Garleton, 'in the county of York, who, for the glory of God and the
welfare of his Church on earth, founded this mission, nat. June 29th, 1765,
obiit. Jan. 22, 1839." On the wall opposite are plates with inscriptions,
of which the following are copies: — 1st. "The Rer. Geo. Leo Haydock,
priest of this mission, nat. Sept llth, 1774, obiit. Nov. 29th, 1849- Eternal
rest give to him, O Lord ! and let perpetual light shine upon him !*' 2nd.
" Absolve, we beseech thee, O Lord ! the soul of thy servant, Henry
Howard, of Corby, born July 2nd, 1759, died March 1st, 1842, a benefactor
to this mission. May he rest in peace." It appears from inscriptions
quoted that this church has been built principally at the expense of Lady
Throckmorton, doubtless out of money bequeathed by her for that purpose.
The Rev. Geo. Leo Haydock, who died in North-West, and whose remains
are inhumed beneath the chancel, was also, by his zealous labours, a great
benefactor to this church, beneath the chancel of which his remains are
locked in *' the sleep which knows no dreaming." Tuesday last was the
day appointed for dedicating the church to the service of God. Bishop
Hogarth said high mass at 11, a.m., assisted by several of his clergy,
amongst whom were the Revs. Curry and Brown of Carlisle, Kelly of
Wigton, Ryan of Warwick Bridge, Smith of Penrith, Cullen of Newcastle,
and some others whose names we could not learn. The church was
exceedingly crowded, and amongst those present we observed Philip H.
Howard, Esq., MP., of Corby Castle, and Lady and Miss AgUonby, of
Nunnery. The choir from Carlisle was also in attendance, and assif^ted
in the opening celebration. After the high mass had been said, a sermon
was preached by the Rev. Mr. Cullen, of Newcastle, who took for his text
the 19th chapter of St. Matthew, the I6th and five following verses. Bishop
Hogarth then delivered an impressive charge to those who were about to
receive confirmation, after which he administered that rite to about twenty
youn&ir persons, amongst whom was Miss Aglionby, daughter of the late
Major AgUonby, of Nunnery, formerly M.P. for East Cumberland. The
church was then solemnly dedicated by the bishop to the service of the
Almighty. — Correspondent.
Corpus Christt. — St. Barnabas. — ^The festival of Corpus Christ!
was celebraled in the above church last Sunday, June 2nd, with all the uaual
beauty and magnificence. Flowers of every hue, cushioned in large ever-
green festoons, hung pendant from and clustering round every portion of
the sacred edifice, interspersed with a profusion of shields in gold and rich
colours, and a multiplicity of banners, in velvet, silk, &c. The day was
glorious, and the general effect of the decorations, aided by the full tide of
sunlight pouring in through the stained-glass windows, shedding a garment
of rich diaper colour on the whole building, was extremely beautiful. At
half-past ten the office of the day commenced, the Rev. F. Cheadle officiating
as celebrant, assisted by deacon and sub-deacon, with a numerous train of
attendants — ^all in full ecclesiastical costume— consisting of vestment,
dalmatics, copes, &c., of cloth of gold, enriched with precious stones.
When the solemn sacrifice was ended, the Rev. J. Mulligan ascended the
pulpit and preached from Luke ii. 34, ** Behold, this child is set for the fall
and the resurrection of many in Israel; and for a sifrn which shall be contra-
dicted." The following is an abstract of the sermon: — When our Lord
was yet an infant in the bosom of His Virgin Mother — borne into His
Father's Temple — the venerable aged Simeon, the prophet, went forth to
meet Him ; and, taking the Divine babe inte^is arms, uttered th6 words
"Behold, &c>.;" and literally — ^too literally — were those solemn words
fulfilled in that eventful life. He was loved by some, hated by others;
some left all to follow Him, others despised Him ; some adored Him, others
Digitized by
Google
338 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
blasphemed Him» &e. And even thus will it ever be with Divine religious
truth, during its stay on earth — the character that accompanied Christ
through life — will ever in its degree attach itself to each trutn that He has
left in His Church. Again, as the truth proposed approaches Him in ita
high and sublime nature, so also will it in equal proportion be " for the ruin
and resurrection of many in Israel ; and a sign to be contradicted." it will
on the one hand call up in the human heart the most devoted and the most
generous affection, ^it will on the other create feeiings of contempt, opposi-
tion, persecution — as the case may be. Such are the thoughts that have
been suggested by the Truth of this day*8 solemnity — the highest and most
elevated that Christ has left to His church— even His own sacred body and
blood, shrouded no longer in the helpless folds of infancy, but hidden under
the frail element of bread. A doctrine in itself the perpetuation of His own
life on earth, — pouring abroad into .all time and place, the nature and
character of that life ; so much sa, that there is no lesson deducible from
the life of Christ, that finds not in this great Truth its continued inculcation.
It is the very soul of the Christian Church, — the very essence of the
Christian dispensation : the heart which conveys the very life-blood of the
Christian spirit to all the members of the Church. Hence, it is of all the
Divine institutions the most loved and adored by the children of the Church ;
it is the " concealed treasure" — "the hidden manna'* — the rich, luscious
food of the children of God. And yet, if you consider the manner of its
acceptance, from first to last, in the world and by the world, as such, jnu
will see how completely the words of Simeon have been verified in its
regard. Instances were here adduced in proof of this portion, beginnin<(
%vith that recorded in John vi. — the only discourse of Christ, as given in the
New Testament, in which he speaks of "giving them His flesh to eat, and
His blood to drink ;" and which elicited from His own disciples the expres-
sion—"How can this man give us His flesh to eat?" &c. "It is a hard
saying"—" Who can hear it V* &c. It is the onl^ truth which He proposed
to His own followers, and which constituted in itself— and at once — a test
of orthodoxy : " the unbelieving turned away, and walked no more with
him." Agam, 1 Cor. xii. in which the unworthy receiver is said to be
" guilty of the body and blood of Christ ;" and to " eat and drink his ofwn
damnation." The idea of the real presence had gone abroad in the €*arly
ages of the Christian Church, but it was, in our Lord's words, *' casting
pearls before swine ;" the gross mind of Paganism changed it into infanti-
cide : it was believed that the Christians in their assemblies took an infant,
and covered it over with paste, and so sacrificed it, — then ate the victim.
The early Christian writers answer this gross charge by stating the doctrine
of Christ: among the rest, St. Justen, martyr, a.d. 150, deserves especial
notice, because his "Apology for the Christian" was addressed to the
Emperor Antoninus Pius, the senate, and people of Rome. In it occurs ihe
following passage : — " This food we call the Eucharist, of which they adone
are allowed to partake, who believe the doctrines taught by us, and have
been regenerated by water for the remission of sin, and who live as Christ
ordained. Nor do we take these gifts as common bread or common drink ;
but, as Jesus Christ, our Saviour, made man by the word of God, took flesh
and blood for our salvation, in the same manner, we have been taught, that
the food which has been blessed by the prayer of the words which He spoke,
and by which our blood and flesh, in the change, are nourished, is the flesh
and blood of that Jesus incarnate." (Apol. I., p. 95, 96, 97. Ed. Londini,
Anno 1722.) The Church of the first centuries knew not the direct negation
of this doctrine ; it was too deeply imbedded in the Christian commonwealth
-—too intimately blended with the Christian life. St. Ignatius, the martyred
Bishop of Antioch, disdple of St. John the Evangelist, tells us (a.d. 107)
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 339
that the Docetac " abstained from the Bucbarist, because they would not
believe it to be the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ." But those to whom he
alludes denied the real presence, as a consequence of their denial of our
Lord's humanity. For the first eleven hundred jenn of the Church's
existence, it might be said to have constituted the sacramentum uniiatie of
all Christians : however differing, in this all believed alike. And so they
took it as a common ground, whether in defending truth or opposing error
— in exhorting the faithful, or reproving vice, £e. From the time of St.
Gregory the Great (a.d. 590) we read of processions of the "Blessed
Sacrament;" but it was not until 1262, under the pontificate of Urban IV.,
that this festival was introduced. Ten thousand bells, on the appointjed day,
struck with their mighty music the heart of Christendom, and called up her
three hundred million worshippers to come and honour this sublime doctrine.
Gold, and silver* and precious stones, richly embroidered tapestries, flowers
of every hue, flowed into the churches — towns and dties were arrayed in
gorgeous beauty. And so, 'midst the unceasing roar of cannon, and ringing
of countless bell, ami loud choral song of praise, that seemed to be re-echoed
back from the eternal choir above — forth went the sacred Host, and king and
people fell prostrate. And from that dav to this, no festival so dear to the
children of the Church — none more loved, none more honoured.
At the conclusion of the sermon the procession took place, and it would
indeed be difficult to conceive anything so exquisitely beautiful. Little
children, four and five years old, in white, with garlands and flowers fair
and lovely as themselves. Young girls in long flowing veils, and wax tapers.
Youths iu white and scarlet. Assistants with embroidered copes ; canopy-
bearers in ample civic ermined cloaks ; celebrant, and immediate attendants,
in vestments of gold tissue ; crosses, banners, canopy — all moving round
the Church 'midst clouds of sweetest incense, and loud choral song, jubilant.
Solemn benediction concluded the morning service. In the evening, at half
past six, service somewhat similar to that of the morning took phu:e; the
Rev. J. Griffin preached a very interesting discourse on the history of the
day's solemnity. — (From the Nottinyham Mercury.)
The clergy of Geneva having addressed a letter of condolence to the
Archbishop of Turin, now in prison, his. Grace has sent the following
answer: —
" Citadel of Turin, May 24.
'* Gentlemen, — Of all the numerous addresses I have received since my
arrest^ that of the clergy of the city and canton of Geneva has touched me
most. I beg, gentlemen, to offer you the expression of my sincerest thanks.
I shall always recollect the happy moments I passed during my stay at
Geneva,, with the clergy of the canton of Geneva, whose zeal and devoted-
ness to the service of their parishes have called forth my admiration. I
have often declared this, but I cannot deprive myself the pleasure of repeat-
ing it again on this occasion, for I was* really edified by it. My case was
decided, and after the jury had pronounced me guilty, the tribunal con-
demned me to £500 fine, and a month's imprisonment. As the sentence
was pronounced on the 19th day of my arrest, this period, added to the
month I am sentenced to, would make 49 days, in which numher I at once
perceived a happy coincidence with the 49 days Monseignor MariUey had to
pass at Chillon; but now I am ta be deprived of the satisfaction I felt at
this circumstance, as I am told that the month is to be counted from the
day on which I entered the citadel.
" Believe me. Gentlemen, &c.
" Louis, Archbishop."
Digitized by
Google
840 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
BIRTHS.
On the 29tU of May, at 17, Lover Seymour-street, Portman-square, Mrs.
Llbwblltn Mostyn, of a daughter.
On the 3rd of June, at Old Hall Green, near Ware, the wife of W. G.
Ward, Esq., of a daughter.
On the 5th of June, at Clapham, Mrs. John C. Dell, of a son.
MARRIAGES.
On the 29th of May, at the French Chapel, and afberwards at St. George's,
Hanover-square, General Ramon Cabrera, Comte de Morella, to
Marbiannb Catherine, only child of the late Robert Vaughan Richards,
Esq., Q.C.
On the 24th of June, at St. Patrick's Chapel, by his brother, the Rev.
Henry Rymer, Mr. Charles Rtmbr, of Northampton, to Agnes Eliza-
beth, daughter of the late Mr. Clements, of Bicester.
DEATHS.
Of your charity pray for the soul of RiCHARn Horton, Esq., who
departed this life on the Idth of May, at Sutton Coldfield, after having
received all the rites of the Church. R. I. P.
On the 25th of May, at St. Mary's College, Oscott, Mr. Joseph
Gibbons, youngest sou of Mr. James Gibbons, of Wolverhampton, aged
23 years.
On the 27th of May. at St. Peter's College, the Very Rev. Dr. Sinnott
P.P. of Wexford, and Vicar General of the Diocese.
On the 28th of May, at her residence,. Sloane-street, Chelsea, Mrs. Helen
Harorave, in her 96th year. The Catholic Charities of London have
been deprived of a generous and bountiful patroness in the demise of this
excellent lady. In conjunction with her deceased sister, Mrs. Hobbs, she
had been for many years most liberal in her support of Catholic charitable
institutions. *' Kequiescat in pace."
On the 2nd of June, Mrs. Jane 0*Reardon, of Killamey.
On the 7th of June, at Walsall, Joseph Bagnall, Esq., aged 72 years.
On the 1 1th of June, at Camden-street, Dublin, Patrick Sullivan,
Esq., of Dripsey, Cork.
On the 18th of June, Mary Josephine, only survivinp^ daughter of
C. J. Pagliano, Esq., of Brook Green, Hammersmith, having just completed
her 8 th year.
Digitized by
Google
THE CATHOLIC
MAGAZINE AND REGISTER,
No. LXVI. August, 1850. Vol. XII.
THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
WRITTEN AT THE REQUEST OF HER BELOVED GRANDMOTHER,
THE LADY BETHUNE OF LINCLUDEN : COMMENCED THE IST
DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 1753.
(Continued from page 312.)
September 5. — The gentlemen were off to the hill early in
the morning, so that we saw them not at breakfast. I assisted
my grandmother in making arrangements relative to the ball on
the 17th, and the number of guests likely to be with us. She
tells me that she hopes that Master Edwardes will remain over
that day, as she esteems him much. I put a leading question
to try and hear who he was ; but my grandmother merely said,
he was the son of a gude frien, and he and all his kith and kin
were well known to her, and she looked upon him as her own.
I told her I thought I must have seen him before, for his face
was familiar unto me.
She said I had seen him before many years ago ; and then,
laughing, she added : '^ But it is scarce seemly in young maidens
to stare, and gaze, and gossip about those they meet ; therefore,
dear Mattie, cumber not yourself as to who he is, or what he is,
but know that he is a dear young friend of mine. So now go
and look if May Hetley has fitly prepared the blue room for him."
^^ The blue room ! dear granddame !" I said in amazement;
for the blue room was the one my honoured father had used,
and was now our state apartment ^
" Yes, burdalane, the blue room ; " and then, vnth a smile, she
added : ^' see that the pictures are weel dusted, and a nosegay
in the beau-pots, and I need not charge you, dear child, to let
a white rose be in the posie."
VOL. XII. B
Digitized by
Google
2 THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
I proceeded to the blue room, but found all there ready pre-
pared. The blue room being the one occupied by my honoured
father, has been little used since. My mother liked it not after
he had left her ; and my brother, Sir Richard, said that it was
too sombre, with antique carvings in oak, and that he ever feared
that the grotesque heads which were carved on tlie cornices,
would take it into their heads, for they had nought else, to come
to life some night, and coming down would go rolling about in
search of their legs and arms, and perchance fauie de mieux
take his ; consequently, though heretofore this room has ever
been appropriated by the bead of the house, my brother affects
it not, but has chosen for his own the east turret. We have
therefore made it our state-chamber, and it being hung vnth blue
velvet from Genoa, we ever now term it the blue room.
I looked that the pictures were well dusted, and in especial
that the portrait of my hero of romance, the brave, the chivalrous,
though ill-starred Earl of Derwentwater, which hangs on one
side of the large fireplace, was free from spec or stain. Amaze-
ment ! when I raised my eyes to the picture, it was the likeness
of Master Edwardes I gazed upon : the same gallant and grace-
ful bearing ; the same dark falcon eye, and noble brow ; the
black hair worn in the same style, unpowdered, and hanging in
long curls at the back ; the small dark mustache shading a mouth
of great beauty, but expressing firmness and decision. The
picture had a peaked beard, which Master Edwardes lacked ; but
save for that, and the difference of dress, it was the picture of
Master Edwardes. Whom, then, could he be ; this stranger
whom my granddame prized so much and honoured so highly ?
I quitted the blue room hastily, and ran to tell her of my notable
discovery; but I found her occupied with Elspet and May
Hetley, and not choosing to interrupt her, I hurried away to my
own little oriel room, where my brother and I spend great part
of our time; and, I blush to write it, instead of occupying
myself in some useful or improving employment, I looked not
at my wheel ; my spinnet was unheeded ; and I forgot all about
Master Edwardes and the picture, in the perusal of Sir Charles
Grandison, a book my dear brother has presented to me, and
which I find to be of powerful interest, and exceeding beauty ;
though I like not the heroine so much. Unlike any Harriet
that ever I knew, she is perfect ; too much so to be interesting.
My brother says, that frequently in the character as in the opal
stone, the beauty consists in a flaw : I will not say the same,
but I do allow I feel more interest in Clementina than in Harriet.
At length the turret clock warned me that the hour when I
accompany my grandmother to walk, was long since past ; and
ashamed of my negligence, I made a vow not to open my book
Digitized by
Google
THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL. 8
again for a week ; and hastily closing it, I ran to get my capu-
chin, and then hurried to the oak parlour, where my grandmother
generally sits, and where I found that the gentlemen had returned
from the moors, and were deeply engaged in earnest conver-
sation with her. As I opened the door, Master Edwardes said :
" No, Sir Richard, the risk is mine only : I stand or fell alone."
I fear my temper is bad, and my disposition haughty ; for when
my grandmother saw mo enter, she evidently showed that she
wished not for my company, for she said to me hastily : " Go,
Martha, see the game just brought home put into the larder ;
and do you choose a good bird and make o'it a spatchcock, I
warrant our young friend has na tasted one for monie a day.**
I felt that this was a hint, and a broad one, that I was not wished
for ; and mortified at being thus treated as a child before a
stranger, I hastily shut the door, to conceal the tears of mortifi-
cation, and I fear of anger, that rose to my eyes. I ran quickly
down the grand staircase ; but ere I had time to cross the court-
yard— for in my evil humour I resolved not to go near the cook,
but show that I felt that it was a mere pretence to get rid of
me — I say I had not time to cross the court-yard, when a kind
voice said at my ear, " Your kind grandmother has permitted
me to visit the cuisine with you ; nay, more, promises that you
will instruct me in the proper method of making a spatchcock."
It was Master Edwardes that spoke to me ; and I quickly divined
that he wished to spare me the mortification of fancying myself
ti'eated as a child, and had made this pretence to join me ; but
my evil humour had not yet vanished, so I replied drily, that I
had no doubt but the cook would instruct him equally well as
I could have done ; that I was not going to the kitchen, but to
the garden instead. He observed that this pleased him still
more, as he hoped to obtain my permission to accompany me.
I bowed, and we went together ; and very soon my evil humour
disappeared, and I felt sadly ashamed of having given way to
it, especially when I saw the pains Master Edwardes took to
make me feel that he had not wished to dispense with my com-
pany. At length I said, suddenly, —
" Now I have recovered my equanimity, which was so sadly
deranged, and feel ashamed of my petulance, I am assured that
my dear granddame judged well, that I might have heard some-
thing which, though it might interest, might neither concern nor
edify me ; and thought it better to give me some employment
to occupy my thoughts. I shall therefore hcLsten and do her
bidding, and regret the ill opinion you must form of my temper
and cvdture j" and I turned to. go awfty.
" Pardon me," said Master Edwardes, " if I detain you yet a
few moments. Believe me, had I judged you wrongly, your
B 2
Digitized by
Google
4 THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
frank confession would have shown me mj error ; but in truth
I did not so. I felt anxious to tell you the subject we were
conversing on, as far as / am concerned ; but fearing that it
might not possess sufficient interest for you, dare not commence
till I had your permission to do so. Have I that now ?"
" First tell me, does my grandmother know of your intention ? "
" She does ; else had I never ventured to mention it to you.
I scarce know how to begin my story. Miss Baliol," he said,
after the pause of a few minutes : ** Have you no recollection of
ever having seen me before ? Did you never see any one whom
I resemble ? "
" My grandmother tells me that I have seen you long ago ;
but I recall neither the place nor time ; but I must have seen
some one like you, for to-day I was struck by the strange
resemblance that you bear to the Earl of Derwentwater."
" Why strange r " he replied, sighing : " he was my fiither."
" Your father !" I exclaimed, " impossible ! You cannot he
my play- fellow and champion of old, Charley Ratcliff !"
" But indeed I am, as surely as you are the little Martha
Baliol of those happy years. Do you not recollect me now, or
our last meeting at the palace of Holyrood, when I was page to
Prince Charles, and your dear grandmother brought you, as the
only Baliol then in the country, to do homage to yoiu* Prince ?
And do you not remember the Prince taking you in his arms —
you, a little fiidry thing of eight — and asking you where your
white cockade was ; which I, in all the pertness of pagehood,
and with the freedom of an old companion had taken from you
to wear in my cap, and had promised to dip in the hearths blood
of our enemies ere we met again ? How little I then fancied
what was to be ere we did ! And do you remember the Prince
taking the cockade from his own bonnet, and telling you that
you were his youngest and fairest recruit ? '*
" Could you suppose I could ever forget that scene ? " I
replied. " I still preserve the white cockade as one of my
dearest treasures."
" And, believe me, the one I obtained from my dear little
companion is still in existence — still cherished as a sweet
souvenir of those times, and the little friend who gave it. My
life, since then, has been a strangely chequered one ; yet not
one scene of the time I then passed with my Prince has been
obliterated from my memory. No, whilst I have life, I shall
never forget those days." **«.'
" But why this disguise ? " I said ; "why not openly return to
us as Lord Derwentwater ? Can you fancy that you would not
be welcome, or that though I had forgot my former playfellow,
that others would not remember him ?"
Digitized by
Google
THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL. 5
" Nay, do not say forgot, dear Miss Baliol ; merely that you
did not at first recognise him : but my disguise is easily ac-
counted for. Those who butchered the uncle and father, are
not likely to forgive or be forgiven by the son and nephew ; and
as the attainder has never been removed, though I am Earl of
Derwentwater, in this country they do not recognise my title,
for here might makes right. But as I never shall recognise the
Elector as my king, I care little for his disputing my title. What
his minions could take they did — my estates ; and the kinsman
who holds a part is not likely to give it up, nor to obtain my
pardon, which might make him not quite so sure of his ill-gotten
gear. I am, therefore^ a proscribed man, liable to be seized by the
blood-hounds of the law, as my. noble father was ; and if so, the
same doom awaits me. But we honest folk across the water,
know rather more of all that goes on here. than we get the credit
of doing ; ay^, and can make our owi) use of the knowledge.
Information was conveyed to m,e that the caitiff traitor who holds
my lands, has stretched out his bloo.d-stained hand for my coro-
net. In short, denying; my father's marriage, he is trying to get
the attainder set aside, and declares himself to be the Earl of
Derwentwater. The moni^nt I heard of this, I wrote to him ;
gave him the lie in his teeth ; and hurried to Scotland to con-
sult how I may best confront the villain, and show the perfidy
which condemned th^, father to the block, and would now con-
summate the ruin of our family by heaping on the son the shame
and misery of a dishonoured naitie. I ktiew that Orasme of the
Knowe was one who estoetned my father much, and resolved on
landing at Leith to proceed ther^. . My life. Miss Baliol, has
been one of disti'ess and danger ; yet I scarce think I ever suf-
fered a sadder feeling than I did a few days ago, on entering
Edinburgh, and contrasting the solitary progress of a proscribed
and outlawed fugitive, stealing back to his own country to defend
his father's name — the sole iuheiritance he h^d to leave an only
child — and the triumphal entry of the same individual a few
years previous — then a boy of fourteen — flushed with a recent
victory ; marching close to his Princely master, followed by
brave clans, their pipes playing the fine martial air, ^ We'll awa
to Sherramuir' ; and, above all, the bright future then before us."
Master Edwardes — no, that name no more — ^from me he shall
ever receive his own — the Earl of Derwentwater stopped here,
and the tears rose to his large dark eyes, which so lately had
flashed with enthusiasm. For myself — I could not help it — I
felt a choking sensation at my throat, and my tears gushed
forth when I thought how bright our hopes tiien were, how
faded and dim now : and if I thus felt the contrast, what must
he not do !
Digitized by
Google
6 THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETH0NE BALIOL.
"I beseech you do not grieve thus, my dear Miss Baliol,'*
said he, "I ought to have known your kind heart better, and
not thus to have pained it, narrating my own sad feelings. My
tale is well nigh finished. I proceeded to the Knowe, first taking
the precaution of assuming a nom de guerre^ which, in truth, is
my own, I being a godson of Prince Charles. Mr. Graeme
knew me not, and I found that old times were forgotten. The
Elector was now all powerful, and I might bring distress and
difficulty on any who took my part. Mr. Graeme knows me as
Mr. Edwardes only ; as I was thus introduced to him by an old
friend across the water : but all were not so blind. Your kind
excellent grandmother at once recognised me ; and leading me
a;side, asked if she were in the wrong in styling me Lord Der-
wentwater. I told her who I was, and explained my motive for
coming to this country. She received me as the son of her dear
friend ; offered me the hospitality of her house ; and in her
grandson's name promised that he would use his endeavour to
have my rights established. Sir Richard, with a kindness far
beyond my hopes, has promised to do so, and we were conversing
on this subject when you entered. Do not fancy Miss Baliol,
that your grandmother could have had any motive for not telling
you, but the simple one that the keeping of a secret is always
attended with difficulty, sometimes with danger ; and she wished
to spare you both. But now it would have so much the appear-
ance of treating you without confidence, that 1 requested per-
mission to tell you. Your brother has promised me his support
— may I hope that I have Miss Baliol's good wishes ?"
My lord added some flattering speeches, but I will not write
them down : were I to believe them, they would make me proud
to merit them : but I will not allude to this matter.
Hearing that I kept a diary, he has requested me to make a
memorandum that he hopes to have the honour of being my
partner on the 17th ; I said it not to him, but I thought I was
not likely to forget, though he avers that possibly I may.
After dinner, we all rode together. As we were cantering
along, a hare suddenly crossed before us closely pursued by
two gaze-hounds ; and in an instant a lady, mounted on a superb
chestnut horse, came galloping up.
^^ Madge Murray, as I live !" exclaimed my brother, and
E'ving his horse the spur, in a moment he was by her side.
3rd Derweutwater asked me if I also wished to follow —
"No;" I replied, "I am rather nervous riding across the
country, and Madge flies like the wind — ^ha! There is her
brother Harry."
Harry rode up and accosted us thus —
"I knew you a long way off: I knew you a great way off,
cousin Martha I knew you before Madge did: I said it was you
Digitized by
Google
THE DIART OF MARTHA BBTHUNS BALIOL. 7
and Sir Biobard : I don't know yon/' he said, tuniing to the
Earl; ^'but I knew jou and Sir Richard before Madge did,"
nodding to me.
The Earl looked amazed at this strange salutation, but a
single glance at poor Harry explained his sad state. More
perfect features than his I never saw; but one beauty, the
beauty of intellect, was wanting: his deep blue eyes were
fEuiltless as to colour and shape, yet deyoid of all intelligence :
and his mouth, perhaps the most expressiye of all the features,
had a listless look.
^^Is that a son of the beautiful Mrs. Murray, of Broughton,"
said the Earl to me.
"Yes, do you recognise the likeness ?"
"I do indeed; the same features — ^but yet so different The
first time I ever saw her was when King James was proclaimed
at the cross of Edinburgh, and she, mounted on horseback, with a
drawn sword in her hand, and profusely decorated with white
ribbons, remained there during the ceremony, and aught more
radiantly beautiful than she was I never saw ; she shed a halo
of enthusiasm round her, that infected all who were near her — ^**
"Ah ! here they come," cried Harry : "Madge first, of course.
Sir Richard never could keep up with Madge. Ah, Madge, I
told you I knew them, was I not right ?"
"Quite rights" said Madge.
"And the dogs — Did Fingal or Ossian run best ?"
"Fingal by far the best; he turned puss three times before
Ossian did it once."
"There !" exclaimed Harry delighted. "You see I'm right
again, and I knew them before you, eh Madge ? Do you allow
that I was right ?"
"Indeed I do, Hal: I have fiedrly lost my bet: Ossian is
yours for ever."
"Good dog, good dog !" cried Harry leaping off his horse and
caressing Fingal, whilst a keeper was covering it from the cold.
" And I was right about Sir Richard and Martha ; but I donH
know the other," he continued.
"The other, Harry, is a friend of mine, Mr. Edwardes," said
my brother ; but Harry was again caressing his dog. Madge
had taken off her hat, and was fiBtnning herself with it. Sir
Richard named Master Edvvardes to her. She looked a moment
at the groom, and seeing he was too deeply occupied with the
dog to heed us, she said : —
"Not at all, cousin Dick ; it's Charley Ratcliff, the page whom
I mortally offended one night at Holyrood, by asking what
relation the notorious Daddie Ratcliff was to him." She hum-
med the words "Weel wad I my treu luve ken, amang ten
Digitized by
Google
8 THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
thousand hieland men f and then putting on her hat and holding
out her hand, she added, "bpt I am quite sure that Lord Der-
wentwater has long ago forgiven me."
"The only thing Lord Derwentwater cannot forgive Miss
Murray, is fancying that he could be offended at the interest she
took in his relations," replied the Earl bowing.
"And now, Madge, what next ?" said my brother.
"Why, I see they have brought up the puppies, so I fancy
we must give them a course ; eh Harry ? Shall we give Skiff
and Dart a trial ?" she continued.
" Or ride over to the Mount with us, and see my new gaze-
hounds," said my brother.
"I should like that, Madge," said Harry.
. "But, Hal, it would be quite dark ere we left, and we could
not see the puppies run," she replied.
"And that's true — no, we won't go."
"Nonsense, man ! Come you must !" said my brother.
"Not if Madge says no," answered Harry.
"But Madge will say yes. Won't you, Madge? You shall
have a dish of tea, and a gossip with Martha, and Harry shall
see the gaze-hounds, and then a brisk ride home by moon-
light."
"So be it !" cried Madge ; "lead on."
"Nay, fair cousin," replied my brother bowing, "do you lead
and I shall ever follow."
They gave directions to the keeper to return to the hall with
the dogs, and then we started to return home ; but scarce was
Harry mounted when he began to wager that his pony would
trot against my brother's horse. Madge, as a matter of course,
supported Harry, so off they started, leaving Lord D. and me
to return at leisure. Truly we had a pleasant ride ; but as our
horses were somewhat warm we walked them most of the way ;
consequently the others were at the Mount a considerable time
before us ; and when I entered the room, after laying aside my
riding gear, I found Madge seated on a low stool at my grand-
mother's feet. Sir Richard and Harry being also present.
"So, fair cousin," said Madge, "you are a sad laggard.
Here have I been telling my dear grannie" (this is a pet name
she gives Lady Lincluden, who is not her grandmother) "all the
news of the country, but I have kept a nice bit for you. Open
wide your ears, hear and beUeve that the delectable pink of
perfection. Miss Peggie Paterson, has at last met with one
capable of understanding her ; and, in three weeks, I am asked
to dance at her wedding !"
"Peggie Paterson! I'm blythe to hear it; she will make a
gude wife get her who may !" exdained Lady Lincluden.
Digitized by
Google
THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL. 9
''In that case, Grannie, I regret she has been allowed to
remain so long an indifferent spinster/^ said Madge laughing.
"But who is the happy man, Madge ?" said my brother.
"Who is he ? Why no one that you, or any of us know. He
is a Glasgow weaver by birth ; one of Hawley's dragoons by
profession ; Mungo Mucklewham by name," replied Madge.
'*Mungo Mucklewham ! one of Hawley's dragoons !! the son
of a Glasgow weaver !!!'* exclaimed my grandmother. "My
gudeness, the lassie^s in a creel ! Madge, it can never be, that
a niece of the gude Sir Hugh Paterson, would marry a sidier
roy, let alane a Glasgow weaver."
"True, nevertheless, if I am to believe her: also I think she
is well mated."
" Weel mated, Madge !" exclaimed my grandmother, " what
harm did the lassie ever do ye that ye say that ?"
"The lassie never did me any, for she had ceased to be one
long ere I knew her ; but ever since I remember she has been
held up as an example to all the girls of the county."
"Quite enough to make them dislike her," said Lord D.
"Even so ; and as Mungo Mucklewham is, according to her,
perfect in every manly virtue, and she in female worth, I hold
that they are well mated : besides she has courage and he has
none : he has siller and she has none : how goes the old song,
grannie,
* He had money, and she had none,
And that's the way her love began.'
But I shall miss her much, for she never sees me but she tells
me that she has many an anxious moment about me."
" So have I, Madge," said my grandmother.
"The anxiety is not all on her side, dear grannie ; for as I
told her I often wish she would cease advising me, and am
anxious beyond measure for her being settled as far from the
hall as possible, and then she will be my dearly beloved cousin
once removed."
"And I say marry Peggie Paterson who may, they will get a
gude wife," said Lady Lincluden.
"And I, dear grannie, am not so base as to envy him his
happiness, as indeed I told her."
"Ah Madge, Madge, that tongue of yours will get you many
enemies, and never gain a friend, believe an auld woman,
dawtie, and bridle the unruly member."
" My dear grannie, those that cannot take a jest from me, may
e'en keep away. I never forsake a friend ; I never forgive a foe ;
and my crowning evil in Miss Peggie's eyes is, that I don't care
a rush what she or the world say of me."
Digitized by
Google
10 THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
** More's the pity, Madge,*' said my grandmother, ^ morels the
pity. Ye're owre young to hae mickle wit, and owre foolish to
hae few faults ; let me never hear you say the like again. And
now, burdalane,'* said my grandmother to me, ^^ haste and make
tea, and gie this silly bairn something to pat into her mouth, to
prevent such idle clashes coming out.'*
I hastened to comply with my grandmother's orders ; but I
fear Madge was not convinced ; for she sung In such an exqui-
site manner,
" My Peggie is a young thing
Just entered in her teens;"
that none but could forgive her. When we had finished tea,
Madge rose, and declared that it was time for them to leave.
" We shall see you on the 17th ?" said Lady Lincluden.
" I think not," she replied.
** Nay, but you must come." Sir Richard did earnestly entreat
the same ; and I, too, added my supplications.
" What is it you wish ? " said Harry, coming forward.
" We wish Madge to come to a ball on the 17th."
" A ball ! oh that's brave. Oh yes, she will come. I'll come,
and you may be sure Madge wUl. Eh ! Madge ? " cried he,
eagerly.
" Meantime, mount and go ! Harry," cried Madge.
Sir Richard offered her his hand, to lead her down stairs ;
and I think he whispered something about continuing the song;
but I may be mistaken, for she gave a laugh, and said, " Peggie
Paterson will now do that;" and she sang —
** On by moss and mountain green,
Let*s buckle a\ and on thegither,
Down the bum and through the dean.
And leave the muir amang the heather.
Sound the bagpipe, blaw the horn,
Let ilka kilted clansman gather ;
We maun up and ride the mom.
And leave the muir amang the heather."
WVifkn file door was closed, I said of Madge, that I loved her
Yy and that Lord D. must not fancy that she would
^e Paterson ; for of Madge one might say, that her
waur nor her bite, and she was no one's enemy save
hat worse ane could she have, my dear lassie ? " said
Luden. ^^ My Lord is a soldier, and he will tell you
Digitized by
Google
THE DIARY OP MARTHA BBTHUNE BALIOL. 11
that whilst the citadel remains true, the loss of the outposts is
as nothing ; and if Madge be her ain enemy, wha can stand
her friend ? Not that Madge is an ill lassie — for I loe her
dearly — but she is different from others ; and singularity should
ever be avoided in the young — ^but Madge is no an ill lassie."
" No treason against Madge," said my brother, entering ; "she
is my friend and companion, and I will hear nothing against her."
" Content yourself, Sir Richard, we said nane," said my grand-
mother.
" No ! they had best think twice, ere they speak ill of Madge
once. In the first place, she gives no quaiter ; and in the next,
if you go to your closet and whisper merely a word against her
to your dearest Mend, assuredly the. walls oairy her the intelli-
gence ; for ere long she knows it all : how^ I cannot conceive ;^
but that she does, I have often had proof. But that, surely, is
nothing against the girl."
" From the eager way in which you defend Miss Murray, one
would think some one had been attacking her," said Lord D. ;
yet I assure you such was not the case."
" Attacking her ! — so there is," said Lady Lincluden : " do
you not see he is defending her from himself: his better judg-
ment tells him that Madge is too wild and independent for a
woman : but she has cast the glamour owre him, and he is try-
ing to think that all is right that she does. Yet, were Martha
to act thus, he would not allow it."
" Martha ! truly, no ! she would be an indifferent copy — "
" Of a bad original," said a voice behind him ; and turning
round, we saw Madge standing at the door.
" Don't stare so, sweet coy, as if I were a ghost come back to
punish my murderers, and terrify them to disclosures. As we
passed poor Sandy' Johnstone's cottage we found they were in
sore distress, one of the children being ill ; so we rode baick to
get something for the poor wean ; and you were aJl so busy
talking, and the room so dark, that you never saw me enter; so I
thought it best to save Dick the trouble of painting my character
by summing it up in three words, a bad original. And do, dear
grannie, haste and give me something for the child."
My grandmother left the room, and Madge turning towards
Lord D., said : " I have just heard of the death of Wylie, the
minister of Lesmahago."
" Since you left this, Madge ? " said my brother.
" He who betrayed and sold Kinlochmoidart ? " exclaimed
Lord D., in the same breath.
^^ The same : now listen to the circumstances of his death.
One of his children being ill, he sat up all night with it, not in
the same room, but in one adjoining: suddenly, about the
Digitized by
Google
12 THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
middle of the night, he was startled by seeing a highlander in
fiill dress standing at the open door, and slowly beckoning him
to follow. To own the truth, Wylie was never destitute of
courage ; accordingly he rose, and did follow the figure, which
suddenly disappeared : he went down stairs ; found the doors
all fast, so that no one could have gone out ; and searching the
house, he found that no one was concealed in it. Then, sud-
denly, the recollection of one whom he had betrayed to a cruel
and early death came across him, and he knew this was a warn-
ing that he was soon to follow. In the morning he mentioned
the circumstance to his wife and family : he was quite well till
evening: suddenly, he started up; exclaimed, ^Icome!^ fell
down on the floor, and was dead ere they could reach him."
' For some time, no one spoke.. The silence was broken by
the entrance of Lady Lincluden, who was followed by the old
butler, bearing a basket with necessary cordials for the sick child.
" Gude e'en to you, Howisbn," said Madge. " Have you
heard that Wylie of Lesmahago is dead ? "
" Dead ! Wylie dead ! Miss Murray : atweel, death quits a'
scores, and I wish him nae waur nor he's gettin now," replied
Howison : " and when did he gang to his last account ? "
" Two days ago : but if the basket be ready, I must hasten
away, for I have eight miles across the country, and the moon
not so old as I could wish it."
" Would you allow me to escort you, Miss Murray ? " said
Lord D.
" Escort ME ! Truly no: but I thank you all the same. Harry
will protect me from all earthly toes, and should we meet others — "
" Wheest ! wheest ! Miss Murray," said Howison: "wha kens
what may be near you. Gude be atween us and a harm. The
Warlock^s Knowe^ and the Dead-man! s Moss, are no that canny
in the day, let alane the night: are ye no fleyed ?"
'^ I am a Murray, Howison, and know not fear : a Murray of
Broughton, and court danger:" and waiting no longer, she ran
lightly down stairs ; and, in a moment afterwards, we heard the
clatter of the horses' hoofs, as she and Harry galloped down the
approach.
" I'm thinking ye're a Murray, and some skeerie. They're
a' a thocht queer in the tap storey," muttered Howison, as he
left the room.
" Is Miss Murray perfectly safe riding so late, and so poorly
attended ? " said Lord Derwentwater.
" Oh yes, perfectly so," replied my brother. " Hcury would
cut down any who dared molest her ; but, in truth, she is so
well known, and so well liked by all around, that none would
attempt such a thing."
Digitized by
Google
THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL. 13
** She's a brave lassie, that 111 never deny : she has her father's
wit, and the courage of her clan ; and were the secretary to
raise another regiment of light horse, he would need no fremit
folk to lead them ; for Fm mistaken if Madge would give place
to Colonel Bagot."
" The secretary's character," said Lord D., " has ever been a
puzzle to me — to aU, indeed, who knew him. His bravery none
can deny, it was too often proved : he discharged the perilous
task of publishing the manifestoes, and warning the ' different
parties, with a courage never surpassed, and unequalled address.
He was in constant danger of arrest for three weeks, ere he
quitted that occupation to join the Prince : his stratagem for
surprising the Duke of Argyle, and his ruse of misleading
government by false information, were admirably conceived,
and had they been well followed up, would have been of incal-
culable service to our cause. He was intrusted with the internal
management of the whole scheme. He acted as guide to the
Camerons, when they surprised and captured the town of Edin-
burgh. Yet this same man was capable of betraying us, to save
his life."
" No, my lord, pardon me — not to save his life ; but, as
Howison says, they are skeerie. The abbot's curse clings to
them yet. His mother was an Ogilvie ; and of them the abbot
said, * May every son be dafter than his mother:' of the Lind-
says, ^ every man poorer than his father : ' that is the only excuse
I can give for my unhappy kinsman," said Lady Lincluden.
" And feuding death on the field of battle, is very different from
meeting the same grizly shade on the scaffold, after the spirit
has been broken by a long and cruel imprisonment," said my
brother.
" It is indeed different. Which of us would not volunteer to
lead a forlorn hope ? which of us would fear to march up to the
deadly breach ? and yet how few of us can meet death calmly
on the scaffold : — how much greater the courage of acting like
a man there, where death is robbed of its glory — "
My lord's voice faltered. I doubt not he was overpowered by
sad recollections, and thought of the heroic chivalry displayed
by. his two nearest and dearest relatives on the scaffold ; who
had indeed
" Encountered darkness- as a bride, and hugged her in their arms."
After a pause he resumed : — ^^ And Miss Murray — does she
know ? and her mother, her heroic mother ! how bitterly she must
have felt the utter worthlessness of a life purchased by betraying
others!"
Digitized by
Google
14 THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
'^ She did, indeed, feel it bitterly ; so much so, that her life
soon fell a sacrifice. Madge, poor lassie, kno^s nothing of it :
poor bairn ! she has sorrows enow to bear, without breaking heart
and spirit — as it would, did she know the truth. She was so
young at the time of her father's imprisonment, that she was
not told how he saved life and lands — how dearly he bought
them, and I trust she may ever remain in ignorance ; but when
I hear the free use she gives her tongue, I often tremble lest
some one retorts on her. Her father fears the same, and keeps
her so secluded that we are the only family she is intimately
acquaint wi ; and poor Harry her only companion : and he is
at once her greatest grief, and chief joy. You must know, she
blames hersel, and no widiout reason, of being the cause of his
misfortune. A finer, braver, bonnier boy than Harry Murray,
never gladdened a father's heart : Madge was aye a bauld lassie,
and being four years aulder than Harry, was the leader in all
their sports : they were ever fond of riding, as ye see : one sad
day, they were amusing themselves in leaping, they came to a
stane-dike ; Madge cleared it at once ; Harry hung back, a little
nervous : Madge, who knew not fear, urged him to follow ; and
when that wadna do, she taunted him wi letting a lassie gang
where he was feared to follow : Harry was a real Murray, and
the taunt struck home : he raised his pony to the leap ; both fell,
and his head came against the stanes of the dike, and there he
lay, senseless. Madge, poor Madge ! ye may imagine her
agony tft seeing her darling lying dead before her : she utteried
no cry: she shed no tear : but taking the bairn in her arms,
carried him back to the hall : she walked into the room where
her father was sitting, and laying him down at his feet, she said,
"It's your son, and my only brother that I have murdered.'*
Broughton saw that he would soon be childless if he was
harsh wi the wretched lassie ; he asked nae questions ; uttered
nae reproach ; but carried the bairn to Madge's room, and laid
him dovm on Madge's bed. The doctor was sent for, and he
said there was life, and where there's life there's hope. Harry
recovered his health, but his mind was gone for ever. And now
came Broughton's punishment ; and oh ! is it no a heavy one ?
He had turned king's evidence on his friends : he had betrayed
the confidence of his Prince ; and a' to keep the bonny lands
o' Broughton for his young son ; for I will never believe that
the fear o' death made him do it : and he lives to see the bairn
he sacrificed his honour for, a poor harmless innocent ! What
Madge sufiered, nane can tell, she never did : but night and day
she sat beside the boy and watched his return to health, — ^to
health without reason ! Poor Madge, she had need of her brave
spirit now. From that day to this, she has never been separated
Digitized by
Google
TIME FLIES NOT. 15
from him, and never will. She watches oyer him witb all a
mother's care and has adopted, like a brother, all his pursuits,
and tried as far as she can to fill his place with her father. You
may wonder, Tm sure I often do, that with him ever before her
she can keep up the brave spirit she has ; yet it is a blessing
from heaven ; for what would become of Harry were she to turn
dowie, and who would be to him what Madge is ? They are all
the world to each other, and she lives but for him and her
father."
"If," said my brother, "if her expiation for an unintentional
injury ought to be a life of tears and loud reproaches, then is
Madge guilty of neglecting to atone for the evil she has done ;
but if a life devoted exclusively to the being she thinks she has,
irreparably injured ; if by the daily sacrifice of her time, hopes,
and wishes, she can at all compensate, then does Madge most
nobly, most cheerfully do her duty ; and I doubt not, dear
grandmother, that the thought of it costs Madge many a salt
tear, many a bitter sigh, unheard and unseen, indeed, but not
the less sincere."
(^To be continued J
TIME FLIES NOT.
" Se a ciascun, Tintemo affanno
Si vedesse in fronts scritto,
Quanti mai che invidia fanno.
Ci farebbero pieta ! " — MeUutado,
1
Who says that time fleets quickly by ?
Who says that life speeds soon away ?
They little know how wearily
Day may succeed to dreary day !
2
They little know the weary feel
To wake and find another mom : —
To mark the leaden minutes steal.
Slow ticking, with disgust and scorn.
3
They little know, when night comes on,
How gladly is the pillow prest.
Because another day is done —
Not that the body needeth rest.
Digitized by
Google
16 TIME FLIES NOT.
4
They little know the shrinking dread,
Ere sleep comes o'er the languid frame,
To feel that, though one day be sped,
The morrow will be just the same.
5
Without an object, joy, or care :
The world around, a dreary void,
That only tells of things that were —
Of love, hope, happiness destroyed.
6
A dreary void : but yet a stage
On which the weary one must play
His hateful part : — each act an age,
Long-drawn : uncar'd for, grave or gay.
7
Uncai'd for : though, perchance, a smile
Or frown the tutor'd face may wear.
How can such flimsy mask beguile
Or hide the palsied face of care ?
8
s Then tell not me that life is short !
I feel, too galling feel the chain
That once to gird I thought was sport.
But now would cast from me in vain.
9
In vain — in vain ! The weary hoiurs
Move not for me : and uselessly
I pray to heaven's benignant powers
That this may end — oh speedily !
10
They heed me not. Perchance the vow
Is rash. Then let me bow my head.
But, oh my God, might it be so,
How gladly would I join the dead !
11
How gladly would I lay me there
Where lies.. ..I cannot linger on....
Without an object, joy, or care....
Oh let this weary life be done !
SOih Juncy 1850. FuiMUS.
Digitized by
Google
17
THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE.
(^Concluded from page 287, Vol. XL)
CHAP VII.
The courtship, conversion, and mamage of Lady Ada Berring-
ton, nee Agincourt, was not the work of a single week, nor
^ven of a few months, but we have used literally the license
allowed to chroniclers from time most ancient, and have
recounted in a few short pages what took the parties engaged
months to accomplish.
During these months, Cyril had been abroad. Harcourt's
letters had always followed him, and he was thus tolerably
well apprised of affairs in England. At Paris he had
encountered his kind firiends the Ellertons, and sojourned with
them, experiencing their hospitality, so readily accorded, and
receiving the greatest attention from their sympathising kind-
ness. Lady Honora, however, was in such a state of health
as to render her stay in Paris injudicious, and Cyril parted
from his friends and was left in that city of dissipation alone.
He left Paris and proceeded to Marseilles, where he intended
to embark for Alexandria, but letters from Arthur reached him
now which made him hesitate whether he would proceed or
not with his intended pilgrimage. Meantime, and per. ding
further despatches from his friend, he remained at Marseilles.
Arthur's letters had always been written considerably within
bounds. What he communicated to Derrington of the Granby
embarrassments was nothing really to the fact. Sir John had
borrowed largely, relying upon remittances which never came.
Stock was sold, the money spent, bills renewed ; still Sir John
gambled and his lady kept on her brilliant assemblies. People
wondered ; Lady William Frippingham remonstrated with her
sister-iu-law and her brother. The first she found obstinate,
the second rude. Lady Granby was certain money would
come from her Irish agent. Then she had " stock," and her
debts, after all, were not very large. Alas ! the stock was all
gone, and Sir John's debts and outstanding acceptances were
unknown to her. They left London for a short time, but at
Weymouth the same kind of extravagance was displayed.
There seemed a kind of madness in both husband and wife
which prevented them listening to any warnings proffered them.
Their return to London was the signal for fresh extravagances.
Miss Randall appeared to be the only person who really
VOL. XII. c
Digitized by
Google
18 THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE.
profited by these doings. The wardrobes she became possessed
of, the jewels and the money, led her to be so liberal to the
flock of her friend, the Bev. Jabez Muttleton, that a paltry
brick meeting-house was turned into a stuccoed "chapel,"
with some pretensions to architectural beauties. For though
Dissenting bodies are apt to cry out against the folly and
impiety of decking or beautifying the places consecrated to
worship, whenever they can find money they are as fond and
as proud of that which they rail against as any of the most
devoted followers of the style of Pugin.
In place of money coming from Donegal, Mr. Sullivan came
over himself, not with but for money. Death and desolation
still predominated at Byronville ; and astonished at Clift's
demands for money and Lady Granby's silence to his numerous
letters, the honest steward crossed St. George's Channel him-
self, to see " the misthress " and to detail to her the fearful
state of her tenantry and the necessity of affording them relief.
" And she'll do it, faith. Its all along of the Posth Office ;
that's where it is, boys. The craturs there haven't delivered
the darlint the letthers I wrote t' her meeself, so I'll jist cross
the say and arrange it quietly with Lady Granby her swate
self."
That opinion Mr. Decimus Sullivan gave to the tenantry as
the reason of his lady's silence; but the good man had really
other fears, and offered daily to our Blessed Lady prayers for
his mistress's welfare, both temporal and spiritual.
But arrived in London poor Sullivan found some difficulty
in seeing his lady. He called and waited and called and
waited repeatedly, but all to no purpose. He came at ten in
the morning: Lady G. had not risen. He took his seat in an
ante-room and waited patiently, occasionally stepping out to
"remind the servant to remind the misthress he was waitin ;"
but about two or three he found that she had gone out. The
poor man was fain to walk off to his humble hotel with a
wearied spirit and a saddened heart.
This occurred for a week after Mr. Sullivan's arrival. At
last the patient steward was completely tired out, and took it
in his head that the servants of the house kept him from her
sight, and he adopted another and eventually a more successful
plan. This was to wait outside the house, and upon Lady G.
appearing at the door, to " drop on her body and sowl." The
first day Mr. Sullivan was doomed to further disappointment,
for it happened that Lady William had given a party the
preceding evening and Lady Granby had remained there all
night and until late the succeeding day. This quite upset the
poor man and almost prevented him from seeking to obtain
Digitized by
Google
THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE. 19
an interview. But tlie next day he was more successful, and
upon liady G.'s appearance for a drive in the park, placed
himself before her.
As almost a matter of course, the honest steward was requested
to place himself in communication with the "factotum" Clift,
but against this request Sullivan prayed. Then Lady Granby
consented to see him herself in a few days, but Sullivan so
pleaded with his lady that, to the surprise of the London
servants, she descended from her carriage and returned to her
boudoir, followed by Sullivan.
The poor man was astonished, if not bewildered, by the
magnificence he beheld around him. ^^ Byronville Castle," the
paradise of his dreams, was nothing compared to the modem
dwelling house. The grandeur of the "grand room" was
entirely darkened by the sumptuous adornments of the London
drawing room, and the taste displayed in Lady G.'s own room
fairly drove . every thing out of his head, and he roared aloud,
" Beautiful ! Be my sowl it's magnificent, beautiful !"
Miss Randall, who was working in the apartment, having,
much against her will, been desired to withdraw, the lady
seated herself, and motioning Decimus to a chair, requested
him to say what he had to say.
And well Decimus said it; faithfully did he depict the
misery and sufiering at Byronville. Pathetically did he recount
the sufferings from famine and frqm fever of those who so long
had been the pride and glory of the county. Eloquently, for
he spoke from the heart, did he descant upon all that the people
had undergone ; to whom they, in their hour of need, looked
for support ; how, through him, that aid had been applied for,
and how denied them. Poor Sullivan spoke till the tears
chased each other down his sunken cheeks, and it was only
when he paused to take breath that he discovered, so deeply
had he been wrapt in his own piteous tale, his mistress had
been weeping bitterly.
*' I must see Mr. Clift instantly," said Lady Granby when
Sullivan had concluded.
" And it's no use, my darlint misthress, seein Mr. Clift on the
subject. Hain't I had letther after letther from him axing for
the rint, even in the midst of the faver ; but sorra a ha'penny
of comfort did he send us, let alone a thirteener or two to get
male with. It's no use, lady dear, -seeing him about it."
Lady Granby was really of the same opinion, but she knew
not what to say. Her conscience smote her for the careless
callous part she had played, and although one half of the
letters had never reached, what few had arrived safely were of
themselves sufficient for her to have conjectured the state her
c2
Digitized by
Google
20 THE HOUR AND THE MOTITE.
tenantry were in. She made inquiries, but Sir John was
absent ; Mr. Clift was also out. So, after some few minutes
of thought, Sullivan was dismissed for the day, with a strict
charge to return early the ensuing morning, and the repentant
lady drove off rapidly to her able sister-in-law.
That lady she found in excellent spirits. A communication
which she had made to the Foreign Secretary a week before,
and which was looked upon generally as a piece of fabricated
intelligence, had proved to be correct. In a few words the
" Irish intelligence " was reported, and in a few words Lady
Frippingham's advice was asked.
" My dear Harriet," she replied, " how often have I explained
to you your course was too rapid, your expenses too great.
Remember how often have I desired you to retrench a little,
until this unhappy, Irish nuisance had blown over."
" It is not what I ought to have done," replied Lady Granby ;
" it is what we must now do."
" What does my brother say ? "
" I have not seen him since poor Sullivan's tale was known
to me."
" Are your debts large ? "
**Mine ! oh no ! at least I think not. Mr. Clift knows."
"The best thing, Harriet — (do admire this bracelet, dear,
even in your distress) — the best thing we can do is to see
Mr. Clift at once. He only, I suppose, knows the true position
of your affairs."
"My poor countrymen!" said Lady Granby, giving way to
the goodness of her heart and shedding tears.
" Oh think not so much now, dear, of the past. Think a
litde now of the future."
"But what can I do?" said the weeping lady. "I have, I
am afraid, no money. Oh! Lady William, you little know
the vast sums we have so improvidently expended. I fear
we are ruined."
" Let us see Clift, dear, before you give way to so much
grief. Come, I will go back with you."
Lady William returned with her friend to Wilton Crescent,
and late in the day Mr. Clift and Sir John appeared. Before
they had been ten minutes comparing notes, it was plain the
Granbys were absolutely ruined ; but, bitter as was this fact
to Lady Granby, it was far worse to Sir John, who had
liabilities of which his lady had no idea of, and who perceived
in this "break down" something beyond what his wife or his
Bister imagined. That it was a total "break down" Clift
clearly showed them, as indeed he said he had been showing
tihem all along, or rather endeavouring to show them.
Digitized by
Google
THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE. 21
" But, gad, I might as well have preached to King Charles
at Charing Cross, so little did you listen."
" The property must be sold," said the baronet.
" No, John," cried Lady Granby, " not while famine and
fever is hovering over my dear country will 1 surrender the
property to strangers, who will care little for the customs of
their tenants, but only seek to gain an equivalent for their
money. The estates shall not be sold."
" Then how, in the name of goodness, Harriet, will you
raise money ? There are these London debts to be paid. It
is not only a question of having no money, but of wanting
some also. Something must be done."
Sir John proposed a visit to their solicitor, and Clift went
with him to see the man of law, dropping Lady William by
the way, who had some business at the Horse Guards.
The baronet was exceedingly sulky at the turn affairs had
taken, and kept on grumbling to Clift at the vexation he
experienced, at the losses he had sustained, at the degradation
he had thrown upon him, upon the sacrifices he had made;
harping so long upon the subject and so bitterly, that Clift
could not at last help exclaiming,
" Sir John ! Sir John ! gad, Sir John, don't talk such stuflf
to me. Gad, yes, stuff! You began this game with nothing;
your losses at play are five times your expenditure ; and as
for the degradation, gad, can you be more degraded than you
have been ? Bah ! gad, yeSj bah ! talk reason."
Sii John was silent for a short time, but he soon broke out
again : " Those cursed Irish estates deceived me."
" They deceived every one," replied Clift, " and if that
blockhead of a steward had not come over all would have been
better. However, let's see what Screw and Boulton will say
to it."
Sir John looked black as night, and then said, ^^ Clift, may I
trust you ? "
** Gad, yes ; why not ? I trusted you a long time, and with
money, which is far more onerous a trust than confidence.
Gad, yes, more onerous."
Sir John leant across the carriage they were in and whispered
a few words in Clift's ear. Few as they were they had the
effect of causing the other to turn pale as marble, but he
recovered himself, seemingly with an effort, and growled,
"Thedayvil— gad!"
They drove on in silence.
It is said that truth is stranger than fiction. In this case so
strange does it seem, almost strange enough to cast a stain of
incredulity upon the fact, that Decimus Sullivan should have
Digitized by
Google
22 THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE.
fiallen in with the only person who could at all render him
assistance. But so it was. The steward crossing the park
and stopping for one second at the Horse Guards to scrutinize
tiie "souldiers" upon duty, saw standing before him the Rev.
Herbert Clary. It was, indeed, a prolonged howl of delight
that burst from the honest man on encountering one whom he
believed to hold such immense influence over Lady Granby ;
for Sullivan only saw in the rev. priest before him the director
of the late Sir Valentine and the guardian, in some sort, of
tis daughter.
Soon did Sullivan pour out his tale, his sad and piteous
tale, and in return heard, to his horror, that his dear lady was
an alien from the faith of her fathers, and that he who had
so tenderly watched over her in her youth had always been
denied access to her, on the plea that she was not at home.
Then also did Sullivan hear, what had been for the last few
days a "talk" in the metropolis, namely, that the Granbys
were on the "verge" of ruin. A few remarks dropped by Lady
Granby, and repeated now by honest Decimus, confirmed the
good priest in the rumours whispered about, and he determined
to make another attempt to behold his former penitent. Indeed
to him the rebuffs he had before experienced were as nothing.
It was his duty to comfort the afflicted, to advise with those
who stood in need of aid, to solace even sinners if they were
repentant, or to try by holy teaching to raise within them that
penitence. To him, therefore, the denials were as nothing,
and he at once determined to accompany Sullivan to Wilton
Crescent.
It so hiappened that they reached the Crescent shortly after
Sir John, his sister and Clift, had departed, and the porter
who opened the door being the same one that had in the
morning witnessed his mistress's sudden return with Mr.
Sidlivan, conjectured, and naturally, that he had been sent
for Mr. Clary. No question was put, no hindrance made, and
the door thrown widely open, permitted the steward and his
rev. companion to enter and ascend the stairs.
Lady Granby was seated on a sofa, her head resting on a
table, sobbing bitterly. Unconscious of any one entering the
room, she moved riot when Mr. Clary and the steward advanced
towards the end where she was, but sobbed on, her thoughts
being fixed on the unhappy past and the gloomy ftiture.
" Child of my heart," said the rev. gentleman, drawing near
to her, "whence this sorrow ?"
Lady Granby looked up. Her first impulse was to spring
forward and seize her friend's hands. Another thought came
over her, and pushing forward her hands to prevent his approach,
she sank back upon the sofa and redoubled her tears.
Digitized by
Google
THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE. 23
'^ Harriet,'' said Mr. Clary, '^ I3 this the way you meet me
after so long a separation i Is this the duty of a child to its
parent ? Is this the treatment I must receive from a Byron i "
'^Father, dear father," said the sorrowing lady, and she
flung herself upon the priest's hand.
Sullivan howled outrageously ; but, unlike his mistress's,
bis were tears of joy.
Gently, but firmly, Mr. Clary disengaged himself from the
lady, and leading her back to her seat, sat by her side and
with holy words sought to assuage her grief.
It was not long before Lady Granby told to Mr. Clary all
that had happened with her since their last meeting. In a
little time, in almost a less time than we can pen the fact, the
reverend priest was aware of all that had chanced to his dear
child ; of her indifference to Cyril, her love fox Granby, her
deception, her flight, her marriage, her extravagance ; aU, in
short, that had occurred was told; told with tears of bitter
agony chasing each other down her cheek; told with the
knowledge of her fault; told in a contrite and penitent spirit.
Mr. Clary deemed it necessary to acquaint Lady Granby
with the reports that had reached his ear, but to all he said
he met with this reply : ^^ I love him more and more. Remember,
father, lie is my husband.^^ And this, indeed, was so. She
now felt "love" for Sir John; love which, at her marriage and
some short time after, she had not known.
Mr. Clary also acquainted her with Derrington's generosity,
which he had heard from the Bev. Mr. Howe, and persuaded
her to yield to the urgencies of her case and use this money.
But Lady Granby, with the delicate mind of a sensitive woman,
declined to avail herself of the munificence of her former
suitor ; and it was only after much persuasion that she would
agree to the second request of her venerable friend, to accept
from Derrington's fund a sum for transmission to ByronviUe that
the poor peasantry might be enabled to obtain a "livelihood;"
and, after their severe privations, emerge once more a paying
tenantry.
"We are not now to be separated, my child ?" said the good
priest, about to take his departure.
"Oh never again, dear Sir, oh never again ; would we had
never parted !"
"Murmur not, my dear Lady, murmur not. The wisdom of
Our Lord cannot be doubted. Your trials, by Him ordained,
will have worked His will, and you, rising from the ordeal, a
wiser woman, put the greater trust in his mercy. Murmur not,
Harriet, but rather receive with joy God's lessons forced upon
you."
Digitized by
Google
24 THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE.
As he spoke, the door was thrown quickly open, and Granby
entered the room. His dress was disordered, his eyes blood-
shot, his face pale ; he was evidently labouring under great
excitement. As he advanced towards his wife hastily, he
encountered Mr. Clary, and he muttered an oath of dreadful
import.
''This is Mr. Clary, John — the Rev. Mr. Clary, my best, my
best of friends."
"I want no friends now," cried Granby, "prepare for atrip
instantly."
"Atrip! where?"
"Calais — Paris — the devil, anywhere : quick — quick, Harriet,
quick."
Lady Granby shrunk, she knew not why, from her husband's
touch. Mr. Clary placed his hand on the baronet's arm, who
shook it off roughly.
"I cannot hear you now. Sir, whoever you are. Harriet,
time flies. I must be free of London in a few hours — ^minutes.
Our trunks can come after us ; Clift and my sister will see to
that. Come, put what cash you have in your pocket, and come
directly, or I must go alone."
"Why this haste ?" said the wife, trembling from the fright,
which the excited appearance of her husband had given her.
" I will tell you another time. Confusion, we lose time now !
Sir, Sir, good day, good day."
He motioned Mr. Clary towards the door. As the frown
gathered on his brow, a loud knocking was heard at the door ;
voices were heard ; and steps rapidly approached the room.
"D nation, they are come !" roared Sir John, springing to
the door, and turning the key. "Come, Madam, down the back
stairs, or I am lost."
His quick ear caught the sound of footsteps coming by the
second way. He ran to an inner room and fastened that
entrance.
The place seemed filled with people. Lady Harriet stood
pale as marble, deprived of speech. The Rev. Father gazed
on the Baronet with astonishment ; he understood it not, and
wondered at Sir John's proceedings.
The handle of the door was violently shaken.
"Sir John, Sir John," cried a voice from the passage, "Sir John
Granby, open the door, quickly, quickly, I must, I will see you."
Lady Granby recognised the voice in the midst of her bewil-
derment, and faintly uttered, "Heavens, Derrington !"
"He here !" cried Sir John ; "all then is over. I have lost the
game, and must pay the stakes."
"Sir John, Sir John, open, open, or I will break the door;*'
sbouted Cyril, for it was himself.
Digitized by
Google
THE HOUR AND THE MOTIVE. 25
Sir John Granby made one step towards his wife, but struck
as it were with some inward thought, retreated without a look
or word to the inner room.
At that moment Derrington, Hareoiirt, and two strangers
entered. As they rushed on, the sound of a pistol was heard in
the inner room, then a groan, and a sound as of a falling body.
"John, husband, husband!*' cried Lady Granby, forcing her
way into the apartment. She was followed by Mr. Clary and
Cyril.
"They beheld on the ground the body, for life was quite
extinct, of Sir John Granby. The unhappy man had applied
a pistol to his ear ; the ball had too well performed its hellish
work ; and Sir John Granby was a mutilated corpse.
"Husband, husband," shrieked the lady, and fainted on the
body.
* * * «
Cyril had only arrived in town that morning. Letters from
his bankers had infonned him of large sums haying been drawn
from his account. Arthur's communications also hastened his
return. When he reached London, he found his signature had
been forged to seyeraJ drafts. He had not the slightest sus-
picion as to the culprit ; and, for he had other things to occupy
him, left the matter entirely in their hands. Before he had left
the bank one hour, a messenger was after him ; a clue had been
obtained. The deceased baronet was the forger. Hardly cre-
diting this, he sprang into a cab with Harcourt, and drove to
Wilton Crescent, to prevent matters being put in a traia that
would fall heavily on his still beloved Harriet. At the door,
he had found the place being stormed by bailiffs. Anxious to
exchange the first word with Sir John, he had flown past the
officers, and had ascended the stairs.
The rest is known.
0 * nt * 0
In a convent, not out of London, there is now one who has
just assumed the habit of the order, but though so young, is
still already marked amongst that pious sisterhood for her piety.
During the time of her noviciate a smile was never seen upon
her face, a word scarcely escaped her lips ; her thoughts were
on the Omnipotent above. In the church of the order is
fitted up a magnificent altar, dedicated to our Blessed Lady,
the gift of this newly professed sister ; and if true penitence
and intense prayer avail us with the Creator, then will Sister
Francesca, once Harriet Granby, receive in her spiritual
existence a pardon for the errors committed by her during her
married life.
And Cyril Derrington, the loving and the good, the motive
Digitized by
Google
26 midnight: a sonnet.
which he had in devoting himself to his only love is now at an
end. Her peace rests now not with human beings. The
hour, though, when he dedicated himself to her is still upon
him, and in her name he deals around him with a liberal hand
the comforts of the world to those who otherwise are comfort-
less. The tenantry of Byronville have reason to bless bis
name, but it is not only in Great Britain and Ireland that his
charity is to be observed. Ever roaming, the world is to him
but one wide land, all mankind his brethren, and on the distant
shores of Sicily, in France, in Spain, the good Samaritan has
appeared, his wealth dispensed in the name of her he still
fondly loves. In return he asks prayers for their benefactress
to the Holy Virgin, and daily are they so poured forth.
T. H. N.
MIDNIGHT:
A SONNET.
*Tis midnight. What is midnight ? 'Tis to be
In a large room, where dying tapers throw
An obscure light around, and scarcely show
China and mirrors wide, that, like a sea,
Absorb the light : — ^where volumes learnedly
Kise amid gilded frames that flash and glow
Bound pictures that more black and blacker grow.
'Tis to look round and dread what you may see.
'Tis to feel silence brooding far and near : —
To mark the slowly-measur'd ticking clock.
That seems to threaten with a sound of fear.
And grows more loud, as it alone would mock
The hour. It is to think and think ; and wear
Close thoughts — as now the house-door wears its lock.
Uth July, 1850. A. C.
Digitized by
Google
27
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
The Right Rev. Peter Augustine Baines, Bishop op
SiGA, Vicar Apostolic in the Western District, &c.
I have doubted whether I ought to publish my recollections of
this eminent prelate, and the letters which he addressed to me
during a series of many years. I have shrunk from encounter-
ing the accusation of a breach of confidence which I foresee
will be charged upon me by those who may be annoyed by the
opinions which I must evolve. But I have resolved to risk the
charge — considering the eminence of him who wished to enforce
those opinions, and the good they may still effect if proclaimed
from the tomb. Bishop Baines was, indeed, a public man : no
history of Catholicism in England, during the last twenty years,
could be complete unless it recorded also the personal lustory
of his lordship, as it became known to me during a long and
intimate friendship. His opinions on church music, on church
architecture, on the reconversion of England, on the means of
advancing religion in our country ; his system of controversy ;
his re-establishment of collegiate decorum by the creation of
the colleges of Prior Park ; his contests with opposing Catholic
parties or factions in England ; his summons to Rome, and the
manner in which he justified himself to the Holy See, — all these
are matters which ought not to be forgotten. The opinions of
an eminent man are always deserving of weight ; and while the
circumstances which called them forth still exist, (as, in many
cases, interesting to Dr. Baines, they now do), those opinions
ought to be promulgated by those who have the means of
diffusing them. Were it needfiil to do so, I might justify the
publication of this memoir by the consideration that, when
summoned to Rome and in doubt what fate might then await
him. Dr. Baines confided to me the defence of his reputation in
England. That reputation is not now, indeed, attacked :
perhaps the fear of reopening unpleasant controversies tends to
sink it systematically in oblivion : but the opinions of a great
man, and such this bishop was in his sphere of action, may be
promulgated without offence when the biographer announces
them, as I shall do, in the words of their owner, and adds no other
observations of his own, than may be necessary to connect
them together.
On Sunday, 14th November, 1830, I attended Mass in the
chapel in Pierrepont-street, in Bath. I had, and, perhaps, still
have, what some may deem crotchetty notions about church
Digitized by
Google
28 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
music. There were many things in the performance of the
choir in the chapel on that day that annoyed me ; and after the
service I wrote a letter to the Bishop in the district, Dr. Baines.
He had lately returned from the continent, and then resided at
Prior Park, near Bath, which he had purchased and converted
into a college and ecclesiastical seminary. I had never met his
lordship, and was, perhaps, guilty of some presumption in so
addressing him. However, two days after, I received the
following reply to my remonstrance : —
" My dear Sir, — You and your friends, who agree with you on
the subject of music, are right in supposing that I am anxious
to correct the extravagances into which the musical world is for
ever running in spite of common sense, common propriety, and
religious dogma. I remember, one year, having spent above
£200, in an attempt to reform the abuses in the choir of the Bath
Chapel, and introduce another style of music and another class
of performers. After various expedients, I issued a positive order
to the clergy and to the leader of the choir never to permit the
repetition of a single syllable in the music of the Mass. I
suffered no small persecution on this score. However, Mr.
Manners, in compliance with my wishes, and in opposition to
those of ail the musical profession, (who pronounced the project
not only difficult and foolish but impossible), composed three or
four very pretty Masses, in which there was no repetition what-
ever, and at which, of course, there was no unnecessary delay
caused either to the priest or to the unmusical part of the congre-
gation. On great days I allowed a departure from this rule, when T
was expressly applied to. How long these regulations have become
a dead letter, I know not. Having thus, I hope, convinced you
that I am aware of the existence of abuse and am anxious to
correct it, I will take the liberty of making some remarks on
the particular objections you make, some of which I do and
some I do not consider well founded.
" It is an invariable rubric in High Masses («.e., in Masses
which are sung) that the priest do not recite any part aloud.
The reason is founded on good taste, the effect being decidedly
bad. Hence, if the epistle be not chaunted, the organ ought
to play or something be sung during the time when the priest if
refilling it and the Gradual. I have often complained that these
rubrics are neglected.
^^ I have often noticed in the English, particularly in the
English Protestants, an aversion to anything in the church
being like anything out of it. I suppose this is the reason
why modem English churches are built in what is called
Gothic architecture, and are, fortunately, unlike anything else
in creation, whether amongst the works of God or man. For
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OP EMINENT MEN. ^9
the same reason I suppose it is that the music in the Protestant
churches in general is such as could not be borne in any other
place. For my own part, (and the same feelings are general on
the continent where I have been), I have no more objection to
hear a piece of profane music converted to sacred purposes than
I have to see a pagan temple converted to Christian worship.
I remember once at a convent, in this country, hearing the little
girls playing on the pianoforte, during the Mass, whatever they
could, and amongst other things were the * Blue bells of Scot-
land,' and ' Oh dear, what can the matter be !' and I must own
that the association was not at all unpleasant to me. In Rome,
at the Sti Apostoli, on the Feast of the Church, when Cardinal
Odescalchi officiated, the whole Mass was formed of Rosini's
*Mos^,' and a more beautiful thing I never heard. It was
almost a general rule in Rome, whilst I was there, for the organ
to play, during the Elevation and Benediction of the blessed
Sacrament, the air of * Dal tuo stellate soglio.' I remember
its being done at St. Mark's, in Rome, when the Pope was pre-
sent, and I dare say his Holiness was as delighted as I was.
On this head you will see that I am incorrigible, and should
feel no manner of objection to a composer taking * God save the
King !' for a motivo to a Credo, Sanctus, or anything else. But
I do not say that I am right. However, I have great authority
on my side. Scandal^ I do not see how such a thing can give.
But, probably, the Credo of last Sunday may have been bad on
other accounts, besides its motivo.
" It is an approved custom, in many places, to continue the
Offertory, &c., whilst the choir sings the Credo. I plead guilty
to having introduced the custom in Bath, having been ac-
customed to it in Germany from my early years, and thinking it
an accommodation both for priest and people. I can see no
objection to it, as the Credo is said by the priest, and may be said
by the people if they like, as well as the other parts of the office,
which occur whilst the Credo is being sung. Those who are
more excited to devotion by the music, as I always profess to be,
may join the priest only in their general good intention, and attend
to the music. This, again, is quite orthodox, and conformable,
I think, to good sense, and to the nature and object of sacrifice.
That the priest should wait for the choir on ordinary occasions,
or perhaps on any occasion, before the Elevation, is an abuse.
1 will speak about it, and try to correct it. The same remark,
in a less degree, is applicable to the Agnus Dei. But it is
impossible always to calculate to the moment. Wherever the
prayer for the King is sung, I have noticed that it is sung either
before the Post Communion, or immediately after the last Bene-
diction. There can be no objection to its being sung during
Digitized by
Google
30 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
the last Gospel, which is hardly a part of the Mass. When a
bishop celebrates poutifically, he leaves the altar immediately
after the Benediction, reciting the Gospel of St. John as he
walks to the sacristry. So I did, by order of the Pope's masters
of ceremonies, in the Sixtine Chapel, and in the presence of the
Pope — so the Pope himself did in my presence in St. Peter's.
We have nothing to do, in these matters, but to ascertain as well
as we can what the Church wishes us to do, and do it ; viewing
such matters under certain particular aspects, and with certain
prepossessions, and under certain associations, things will often
appear wrong, which, viewed under other aspects not less proper,
will appear quite right. I have always found the Church right
at last.
*^ I have suffered so much in my combats with musicians, that
I feel very loath to encounter them again, more than I can help.
One may, I fear, say of musicians what the poet says of their
art, that all the powers of earth and other places cannot subdue
them, * though fate had fast bound her with Slyx, &c., still music,
&c., were victorious.'
^' If you wish to be convinced that I am not the first bishop
who have been foiled by Church musicians, and have failed in
making Church music what I could wish it to be, you will find
a most learned and able disquisition by one of the most zealous
and learned bishops of these latter ages. — Benedict XIV., in his
Synodus Diocesana, though I cannot give you the reference.
He says much of what you say, and much more. He had every
disposition that I have, and all the power in his hands which I
have not, and yet he acknowledges that, in spite of himself ajod
many other popes, the musicians did as they liked. I once
heard the present Pope lecture the singers of tibe Passion in the
Sixtine Chapel^ *Sentite ? Non tante strille.' ^Mind : not so many
squalls,' said his Holiness, (in a sotto voce) as they knelt before
him for his blessing, and thai day, to oblige him, they spoiled
the Passion. The next day, however, they sang it as usual, with
all its usual ^strille^ and poor Pius YHI. was obliged to stand
it out with his gout and erysipelas.
"You will conclude, if I do not correct the evils complained
of, I take your suggestions in good part : as they are made in
good temper, and in propria persona, I could not take them
otherwise.
" Believe me. Dear Sir,
" Yoiir very obedient and faithful Servant,
+ "P. A. Baines."
''Prior Park, Nov. 16, 1830.'*
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MSN. 31
I could not but be much gratified by this letter, so condescending
to a stranger ; and laughed heartily at the idea of the Pope's
'^ aside ^ to his musicians while they knelt for his blessing : but
neither my judgment nor my feelings acknowledged the propriety
of introducing profane music into the Church service. I remem-
bered, indeed, how one who thought like Dr. Baines on the
subject had argued, that '^he saw no reason why the devil should
keep possession of all the good music :*' but I also remembered
that the Council of Trent had directed the clergy to remove
^^ Ab ecclesiis musicas eas ubi, sive organo, sive cantu lescivum
aut impunim aliquid misoetur f' — and although the prayer from
the opera of Moses, which the bishop admired, could be deemed
neither " immodest nor impure ;" yet, the plan once admitted,
where should it stop ? I had heard in France parodies on the
Hunters' Chorus in Freischutz sung in processions; I had heard
military bands play ^^ Di piaceo mi baize il cor '' after the
Consecration ; and I had known a friend asked to recommend
the most approved Catholic Church music, that it might be sent
from Italy to England, suggest the grand airs in Bosini's
Semiramide as being those most generally introduced at that
time during divine service. I remained, therefore, unconvinced
by the kind letter of my venerable correspondent.
A few days afterwards, I met Dr. Baines at a dinner party.
His personal appearance lives in the memory of so many that
it is unnecessary that I should describe it. Indeed, there was
nothing very remarkable about him. Rather above the middle
size ; his limbs were not elegantly knit together : constant ill-
health gave a lasting flush to his face : his manners in society
were ungraceful from excessive timidity. In conversation, he
had a trick of turning half round towards the person with whom
he talked, so as to bring the back of the chair against his side ;
thus, with legs double-crossed and the toe of the right foot
pressing the right ankle of the left, he would sit upright, and
with the finger and thumb of his right hand draw lines along
the top of the back of the chair on which he sat. But there
was an earnestness in his voice, an elegance and choice of
language, a twinkle in his little blue eye, a quiver on his lip
that showed the man of intense feeling, the mind of the scholar
and of the gentleman. Nothing could be more dignified, nothing
more impressive than his manner at the altar : the style in which
he intoned and gave his episcopal Benediction after Mass, was
truly grand, almost sublime : it was, all over, the high priest of
the Most High.
We dined on a Friday at the house of a Protestant friend.
" Dr. Baines," said the lady of the house, while sweatbreads
and turkey and tongue were being handed round, *^ Dr. Baines,
Digitized by
Google
82 RBCOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
will you take a poached egg ?" He turned to me and observed,
**thu8 you and I make a profession of faith."
After this, during the year or two that I resided in Bath, we
met frequently and with increasing delight on my part. His
lordship had purchased Prior Park, about two miles from the
city, and was engaged in making those alterations and additions
that were required to fit it for an ecclesiastical seminary and
college. In this work, many considered him to incur too great
an expense : and raised as tliey were of Bath stone, the build-
ings may have appeared to strangers unnecessarily handsome :
but the stone came from his own quarry, — was the cheapest
material that could be used, and the whole additional pile
seemed to me to be as plain as it was possible consistently with
durability and its destination. Besides, the establisfameni; was
a speculation : as a school and college, it was desirable to make
it equal, if not superior, to others in England of the same class :
the misfortune, as Dr. Baines expressed it to me, was that,
when he improved, other colleges were improved also : they
were as anxious to maintain their position as he was to assert
his own.
About this time, arose a question between the bishop and
the Benedictines, who owned the chapel in Bath. It was
carried on with much acrimony, and the laity took part with
either side. I will not enter into particulars, for I would not
needlessly recall past dissensions : I will only record that I
heard Dr. Baines say to a lady, a strong partisan of the monks:
" I assure you. Miss , that you know nothing of the
matters in question ; and let me remind you that, until you
have proof diat he is wrong, it is your duty to believe your
bishop to be in the right." A good axiom in all such cases.
It was, however, in consequence of this discussion that Dr.
Baines deemed it advisable to open another chapel in the
higher part of Bath. That Protestant bigotry might not be
alanned, he requested me to look out for land or for suitable
premises for him. I first tried to secure a garden at the end
of Rivers Street, on which a chapel might be built ; but we
were ultimately obliged to content ourselves with a house,
No. 3, in Bnuiswick Place, in the dining-room of which Mass
was said, for the first time, on the 4th of December, 1831.
This was afterwards given up to a religious community, under
Miss Beauchamp ; and Portland Chapel, a place of worship
belonging to the Dissenters, was rented in the same neighbour-
hood.
Dr. Baines kept little society in Bath. At times, he dined
out, but seldom; though when any ecclesiastic of eminence
was at Prior Park, he would invite the Catholic gentry of the
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MBN^ 33'.
tteigbbourhood to meet him at tea. Thus I rememb^ tiboc
gratification with which I met there the Irish bishop, Dr.
Doyle, on his return from London, where he had given his
famous evidence before the parliamentary committee on the
Irish tithe question. Pleasant, meek, and saindy-looking, he
professed to be too much engrossed with Irish interests to
care for anything foreign to Ireland, but was yet rather
anwilling to converse much on the subject on which he had'
been summoned to London.
I remember that young Boisregan, son of a physician of
eminence at Cheltenham, but who chose to go upon the stage,
was at diat party, and sung. I wonder what is become oh
him! He had a splendid voiee. I remember also, that,
at that party, Mr. Manners sang a ballad I had written,
and which he had set to music ; and that it was rapturously
encored* No doubt, I considered that the pleasantest part of
the evening!
The following letter will exhibit Dr. Baines in his episcopal
character, and will show his kind consideration for his clergy.
It will also give an insight into those painful trials and dis-^^
cussions from which he suffered so much, and which subsequent
letters wQl more fully develope. It had been our wish that
the gentleman to whom this letter alludes, and whom the
bishop desired to remove from the mission he then occupied^
should be appointed chaplain in my family : —
^^ Prior Park, January 22, 1834.
** My dear Mr. ,
'^ I feel ashamed to have delayed so long answering your
favour of the 15th ult. At the time, I could not answer il
satisfactorily, but I might have done so some days ago, but
was prevented by having more to do than the time would
suffice for in my state of health. I have just caught a new
and veiy bad cold, which makes me unfit for anything, and
will cause this letter, like the patriarch^s days, to be ^' short and
evil," «>., stupid.
. *' In accordance with our agreement, I wrote a letter to Mr*
, kind and considerate, as I thought, telling him of the
advantageous offer fi*om you, which enabled me to relieve him
from his present charge, without the pain I should have felt in
removing him from one mission without supplying an equivalent^.
A storm arose ; Mr. said his character was assailed ;
Mr. took up the cudgels on his part, and though I
protested my innocence, and was willing to give Mr. the
most flattering credentials, I was obliged to yield to th^
threatening elements and allow the gentleman to keep his
FOL. XI L D
Digitized by
Google
S4k BBC0LLBCTI0N8 OF EMINENT HEN;
position' in my despite. I was much hurt, thoagh I did not
say so; feeling that unwarrantable means were employed to.
resist my undoubted right ; but I pocketed the affront as well
as I could, knowing by experience that an appeal to a certain
cardinal would do harm and give a new shock to my tottering
authority.
^' I am not sorry, on your account, that the project failed, for
though I think Mr. a good man, and much better suited
to your situation than to the one he occupies, I doubt whether
Be would have answered our former expectations.
^^ I had hoped to be able to recommend another, but I cannot^
now ; so trust that Providence will do for you what I cannot.
** We are here almost inundated. A literal river has been
running down our front field to the ponds for some weeks,
formed of water over and above what the drains can
accommodate.
^^ Last night, for the first time, we lighted up our gas, which
made a good display. It gives a beautiful, steady light, and
•eems destitute of smoke, being better purified than common*
gas.
*^ I shall not forget your kind invitation to , nor fail to
flivail myself of it the very first opportunity. In the mean
time, vrith kindest regards and best respects to all the other
Qiembers of the family, believe me to remain,
*-* Dear Sir, with great regard,
" Your most obedient and faithful Servant,
+ " P. A. Baines."
' Little, when he wrote that letter, little did Dr. Baines antici-
pate the consequences of this lighting up the colleges with gas,
to which he alluded with such evident satisfaction ! But three
or four years afterwards, from some unexplainedmismanagement,
the gas set fire to the original, the centre building : it was com-
pletely destroyed. The loss was irreparable. It checked the
progress of tiie school: it necessitated fresh appeals to the
charity of a public ill disposed to assist one who was obnoxious
to many, and was supposed to squander money extravagantly.
In process of time, the building was, indeed, restored to some
extent: but even in 1839, I found that the bishop had been
able to fit up only two little cells for himself; that these were
Approached by a back stair, and were separated only by a light
door from the noisy workshop of the carpenters- Truly, Dr.
Baines expended little on his own personal comfort !
I hasten on to the next letter that I can submit for publication.
•It is as follows : —
Digitized by
Google
*My dear Mr.
''becollections of bmikent MEN; SS
" Prior Park, May 25, 1889.
'^ I have been hesitatiog for some days whether I might
ventare to make you pay the carriage for a copy of my lectures^
which I very much wished to send you ; not that I am proud
of the hurried work (they were written weekly y as I preached
them) for that I am not ; but that I was anxious to contrive
spme ingenious plan of testifying my very sincere and by no
means common esteem for my present correspondent. Your
very kind letter, of yesterday, determines me to make a parcel
of the lectures and my answer, and trust to your forgive-,
ness.
^ To object to the honour whieh is offered me of having the
work, which you have undertaken to edit, dedicated to me, would
l>e sheer affectation ; to flatter myself that such dedication would
either adorn or benefit the work would, I fear, be vanity. As to
my inclination^ all I can say is, that it is not opposed to yours ;
so perhaps you had better follow your own, which will seldom err
on the score of the first of Christian virtues, — charity. In truth',
1 feel confident that this will be one of the very few prayer-
books with which I should wish my name to be associated, — ^nor
fihall I be sorry to have such a means of explaining to the
public what my views are respecting such books.
^^I am exceedingly obliged to a writer in the Catholic
Magazine^ though he, like all others, has said of me what is not
true ; but, unlike most others, he has erred in speaking too well,
not too- ill, of me. Still, as he has decidedly rendered me and this
establishment valuable service, I am much obliged to him, who-
ever he is, — of course, it is not possible for me to conjecture
who he can be ; though I know there are not two half-dozen
Catholics in these islands, who have the heart and the head to
do so much good in so clever and ingenious a way.
^^ The fire of the stack was a mere trifle, and I was insured.
I think it more likely to do good than ill.
" If you mention the name of Prior Park in the prayer-book
it will stir up the bile in many stomachs, and shut up the bowels
pf their owners' compassion.
** With kindest respect to Mrs. — — — , believe me,
" Dear Mr. ,
" Your much obliged Servant,
+ " P. W. Baines."
" P.S, Do you know the author of Poverty , in the Catholic
Magazine ?"
The .lectures ^.lluded to in this letter^ ai)d which Dr. Raines
kindly sent me, were entitled " Outlines of Christianity," the
substance of sii^ lectures delivered at the Catholic chapel, Bath.
VOL. XII. D a
Digitized by
Google
86 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
It is needless for me to say that they contain passages of great
power and beauty: needless, also, is it that I should dilate
upon the bishop^s ability as a preacher* He was generally
admitted to be almost unriyalled. His sermon on Faith, Hope,
and Charity, delivered, I think, in 1825, has been widely
circulated as a tract by the Catholic Institute : it is a beautiful
and winning explanation of Catholic doctrine. Though his
discourses were often controversial, and attracted crowds of
anxious listeners, I delighted to hear him on less formal
occasions. He always spoke extempore : I do not mean that
he had the self-sufficiency to- present himself before his audience
without having given a thought to the subject on which he
was about to speak. Some would-be orators there are who
consider such rashness essential to extempore speaking ; but
Dr. Baines's plan was to read over the gospel of the day, on
which he intended to preach, attentively to himself; to consider
it for a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes ; to mark, with a
pencil, the divisions into which he would class his subject ;
and then, with the subject folly before his mind's eye, to trust
to the promptings of the moment for words, expressions, feelings,
sentences. And for these, he was scarcely ever at a momentary
loss. While delivering his controversial lectures, which he
did on the Sunday evenings in Lent, he was seated in an arm
chair before the altar, a small table at his side. On this, were
the books of reference that he would have occasion to use.
His language was fluent ; his manner was calm and dignified ;
a vein of sarcasm often ran through his discourse, and kept
4i.1ive the attention and interest of friends and adversaries : — ^for
these lectures were attended by more Protestants than the
chapel could well hold. He generally spoke for an hour and
a half or two hours. The best sermon I ever heard him preach
was on the parable of the mustard seed, and was delivered in
ihe Portland Street Chapel, Bath, on 1st March, 1835. — I
record the date from a feeling personal to myself. I believe
ihat discourse has never been printed.
Th6 following letter also may be interestitig, as showing the
bishop^s opinion of the Prayer-book,* which a large and con-
tinued sale has proved to be correct: —
*^ Prior Parky Aug. 4, 1839.
" My dear Mr.
" The Prayer-book reached me yesterday, and though I
bftve not revised it wholly, I am delighted with what I have
* ''Catholic Houra^ or the Family Prayer-book, containing all the public
and private devotions generallf used by English Catholics; and never
before eoUeeted in one book : with Mass Pnyisrs for thoile at home."
T. Jones^ Publisher.
Digitized by
Google
BBCOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN* 37
seen. I used it yesterday for the Sacraments, and could follow
eTery sen^ment, which I have not been able to do in any other
English Prayer-book for years.
^^ I shall look it over most rigorously for I should like it to go
out faultless. I shall make no scruple at telling you all I dis-
approve, for I know you could not have interested yourself in
compiling such prayers as you have done, if you had not true
Christian humility.
^* In the meantime, I hope Jones will have the types kept
set, so as to admit of a few corrections.
'' All that the writer in the Magazine says is excellent and
judicious. Prior Park is much indebted to him. Would that
he were less remote.
** I go to-morrow to Hereford for the opening of the new
church.
^^ After the 1 2th, a letter under cover to the Earl of Shrewbury,
Alton Towers, Cheadle, Staffordshire, will find me for ten days.
Before the end of the month I shall be home.
^^ I take tlie little Prayer-book with me, and will send froin
Alton, at latest, my corrigenda. In the meantime, with kindest
respects to Mrs. , believe me,
"Dear Mr. ,
"Your most grateful Servant,
" + P. W. Baines."
I have hunted out the article to which the preceding letters
allude, as having done good service to Prior Park. I will
reprint it here, because it applies equally to all our principal
Catholic Colleges, respecting which observations, similar to
those it combats, are often made. It may, therefore, be useful
in correcting misapprehension on the part of the laity, and
in furthering the views of our venerable Vicars Apostolic.
" What can have occasioned this general turn-out of
the inhabitants of the fair city of Bath ? From the bottom of
yonder wooded hill, to the distant height crowned by that
stately building, a long line of equipages extend its glittering
panels. All press regularly forwards, at a laboured but. equid
pace ; save when some jibbing horse allows its load to recoil
a few paces ; but soon warned, by the shrieks of his fair
mistress, that the pole of the equipage behind presses roughly
against his rumble, the somniferous driver exerts himself, and
again recovers his line in this long procession. On — on it
presses. Overshadowed by the tall elms that rise above the
road on the right hand, the anxious tenants of the di0erent
vehicles curiously and admiringly stretch forwards to peer
atween the dark fringe of yew trees, on the smiling valley that
sleeps secluded on their left. The splendid mass of collegiate
Digitized by
Google
88 KECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
buildings rises on the brow of that embowered hill| and re^
ceives company after company of the delighted and astonished
Tisitors.
"Annually have we beheld this spectacle : annually have we
remarked the judicious anxiety of some hundreds of the first
society in Bath to obtain invitations to the festivities that now
await them. They ascend the noble flight of steps ; and palpi*
tating curiosity overcomes many of them, as they gaze, for the
first time, on a Catholic prelate. But the graceful and dignified
humility of their right reverend entertainer immediately sets
the most insular of them at ease, as they partake of refresh-
ments, or wander, in astonishment, over the extensive buildings,
terraces, and galleries, which some few years only have created
to their view.
" It is not for us to particularise what were the peculiarities
of the exhibitions offered to the assembled hundreds of visitors
in the academic theatre of the college at Prior Park. Dramatic
scenes were exhibited by students of every age, from seven
o'clock in the evening until after midnight : dramatic scenes in
four different modem languages, which were pronounced most
accurately and elegantly. French and Italian, in particular,
are better spoken by the lads and students of Prior Park than
by any grown Englishmen whom it hath been our fortune to
meet. The German exhibition was also excellent. The music
between the scenes was beautiful, and we anticipated, with
pleasure, the time when the youthful performers would give
separate evidence of their skill in the private concert-room, or
before the altar, while leading the full Gregorian chaunt — ^diat
most perfect of Church music.
" How all the released visitors nodded and whispered to one
another suppressed astonishment, applause and anxiety, as
they congregated round the elegant supper-table at the
conclusion of the performances ! Whig, Tory, Anglican, or
Methodist — all asked themselves, "What does all this tend to?**
" Why cannot our schools do this ?"
** * This ! ' said a grave, learned-looking clergyman, in
enormous spectacles, ^ this is nothing ! You should have been
here yesterday : you should have been here the last five days,
and witnessed llie half-yearly examination of the students.
Why, our boys spend six years at schools in not learning
Latin and Greek, while they do not even profess to learn any
thing else : here, on the contrary, is exhibited an evident
knowledge, a perception of the genius of both these languages,
in as great perfection as modem French, German, and Italian.
History, music, geography, public speaking, all were yesterday
'displayed in such perfection as I had not thought attainable.
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT HEN. M
in conjunction with the regular branches of oar studies. But
vrhy do I talk of the regular branches of our studies ? *
continued the old man, pettishly: ^ there is iny son Tom
chooses to be a soldier, and I have sent him to Sandhurst:
well, would you believe it, that I have to pay for his learning
to write, as an extra? Writing is an ^extra^ to the usual
branches of education in our first military college !^
** We have shown thee, gentle reader, the feelings of curiosity
with which the assembling multitudes toiled up the hill to
Prior Park : would'st like to overhear what some of them said
as they lattled down the ascent at one o'clock in the morning ?
" * Well, mother,* said a middle-aged clergywoman (we meau
the wife of a * clergyman*) *well, mother! how you can think
of going to that Popish place I cannot make out ! It is quite
wrong; it is really wicked to countenance it! I wish Sham
College was finished on the opposite hill, to oppose it.*
* * Finished, my dear ! Why, they have done nothing more
than pull down Sham Castle, to make room for the foundations :
they want seventy thousand pounds, and can only collect seven.
But as to my going to Prior Park, I can't see any harm in it
We don*t go to prayers ; and even if we did, no English
Protestant scruples to go to Catholic churches abroad. Besides^
it is the fashion to go there ; all the best company in Bath
go there ; and Dr. Baines is exceedingly agreeable ; and I got
a nice litde bit of lobster salad at supper ; and I spent a very
pleasant evening. I only wish the bishop would come out to
my parties, for I really feel rather awkward at going up every
year, and not making any return.*
" * If you really wish to make any return,* said a Catholic
lady, in whose carriage, and in whose presence, the clergy-
woman had not scrupled to pronounce her invectives ; * if you
really wish to make any return, you know that great part of
the establishment was lately destroyed by fire. It can only
be replaced by the aid of charitable contributions, for which
receivers are appointed: and although the bishop does not
expect, I am sure that he will be thankful for any donation that
may have the effect of easing your conscience.' "
Turn we now to a Catholic party.
^^ ^ How absurd it is,' says a fat, elderly gentleman, lying back
in the comer of his carriage, with his hands in his waistcoat
pockets, — * How absurd it is for the bishop to preach so much
about the poverty of the Church, and the necessity of contri-
buting towards the education of ihe clergy, when he can afford
to give such fetes as this, and to raise such a pile of buildings !
no, no ; next time I am applied to, to subscribe to any thing
like a district fund, I shall say that I decline to contributi
towards the erection of palaces.*
Digitized by
Google
40 HECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MENv
** Now my good, self-satisfied Cbristian ; is it possible that
you can delude yourself in this manner ? Was anything done
to-night more than was absolutely necessary to draw people
together to witness the proficiency of the students, and so induce
?arents to support the establishment by sending their sons to it ?
ou know how many missions in England are without priests :
either it is desirable to supply their wants, or it is not. If it is,
ei^tablishments like this must be formed to educate them and
secular scholars, who may contribute towards the charge ; for
you will recollect, that many are called to the service of the
Church who are unable to defray the cost of their education.
This is not a trumpery ephemeral establishment : the district
colleges of the English bishops are built to endure ; to form,
hereafter, an university whose degrees may be recognised by-
law, and by society, as of equal validity to those of the univer-
sities from which we are now debarred. Do you wish for the
external show of your religion to be always degraded and sup-
pressed as it has been in former years ? No ; and you exult in
the self-confidence which now supports you, in place of the
timidity and mauvaise horte which formerly weighed you down
in society. If you benefit by the effect, be not imgrateful for
the means. The neighbourhood of such an establishment as
we have left, raises all who are connected with it in public
estimation : tells your Protestant and Anglican friends, that you
are backed by a body of scholars and of theologians with
whom they know that they cannot compete ; that you have the
means of educating your children more perfectly than any of
their wealthy establishments enable them to do ; and that you
assert, and can make good, your place as an English citizen,
without fear or favour. Talk of palaces, indeed ! Why, if you
and others had sacrificed to this establishment, one-hundredth
part of that which the bishop himself has given out of his private
income, it would have formed the nucleus of an university more
wealthy than that of O^ord. Palaces and luxury, forsooth !
We will venture to affirm that there is no single man in England,
possessing an income of three hundred pounds a year, who
aoes not spend more on himself and his private pursuits, than
the abstemious and apostolic Vicar of the Western District.
** Forgive us, your lordship, for speaking thus openly of your
affairs, but we cannot refrain from exposing the stupidity of
those grovelling, cringing Catholics, who betray their own cause,
and play into the hands of their enemies, by an insane jealously
of the leaders whom it ought to be their pride, as it is their
policy, to strengthen and uphold. The English bishops are
now the true leaders of English Catholics, in accomplishing
that for which they are all so anxious, — ^the religious regenera-
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN* 41
tion of their ooonlry : the episcopal seminaries are the main-
springs of the enterprise, and oaght to be supported hj the
main strengtb of the laity. What we have said of the Colleges
of Saints Peter and Paul, applies, more or less, to all : all afford
better means of education than any other establishments in
England can possibly afford : the prosperity and the maintenance
of all, even in dignity and stateliness, is essential to the well-
being of religion in this country ; it is the only means by which
it can be made to keep pace with the growing wants of an
enquiring community.
" To one and all, we proclaim, — Support the Episcopal
Seminaries."
Such was the passage which, by whomsoever written, we
repeat here as it seems to have expressed the feelings of
Dr. Baines, and may avail to the support of other Ca&olic
episcopal seminaries. It was, indeed, the great wish and
object of Bishop Baines to unite all the English Catholic
Colleges at this time in one university, recognised as such by
the government. He anticipated little difficulty in obtaining
from the ministry such an existence, had all united to demand
it But the fatal differences to which I have before alluded
marred the plan : first one and then another college affiliated
itself to the London University ; and the opportunity was for
ever lost of giving to the English Catholic student a position
which would have availed him through life, and would have
added credit to the whole body of the laity.
The following note will close the subject of the Prayer-
book : —
** My dear Sir,
^^ It is not my faulty but the result of many circumstances
without the range of my control, that I have not sooner sent
the accompanying approbation.
^^ I will reserve my criticisms for the next edition, and only
add at present that, in reading the marvellous translations of
the hymns, I alternately laughed and cried, and sometimes did
both together ; laughed at the ridiculous and, as I had thought,
impossible literalness^ and cried with delight at its complete
success and affecting pathos. Still, even here, I shall not
spare you ; so prepare your patience and be ready, like a dutiful
son of the Church, to resume, when called upon, your amiable
labours of piety.
** Kind regards to the ladies.
^^ Your very obedient and obliged Servant,
" + P. A. Baines.**
The course of years has led me on to the period of the
the publication of the Pastoral on the converts and conversion
Digitized by
Google
i^ ON THE DEATH OF THE PRINCESS BOROHESE.
of England ; to the open attempt to unmitre him who had been
60 long covertly attacked; to the summons to Rome audits
xesults :
-Major rerum mihi nascitur ordo,
Majus opus moveo.'*
But this must be deferred until next month, if the Editor of
the ^' Catholic Magazine *' will then afford me space in which
to continue my " Recollections.'^
f To be continued. Jf
ON THE DEATH OF THE PRINCESS BORGHESE :
Who died at rome, 1 840, and of her three sons who fol-
• lowed her in rapid succession, leaving only one little
GIRL.
BY A LADY.
The bright things, and the beautiful that I have seen to day.
As gazing up towards high heaven in mute delight I lay.
The wonderful, the glorious sight ! Oh ! had I but the power,
To tell the thousandth part of what I saw in that brief hour !
Long time 'twas but a dazzling dream of vague magnificence.
Whose ever-shifting splendour foiled my weak bewildered sensed
At length, the vision grew more clear upon my steadfast eye.
And I saw four spirits moving on towards heaven gloriously.
Spirits of the just were they, the blest, from earth set free ;
And methought that still they wore the shroud of dim mortality.
But yet all glorified they seemed, as they floated towards the
light,
That every moment as ihey rose, waxed brighter, and more
bright.
Silent and slow they moved along, with calm and even grace.
Soft viewless powers seemed wafting them to their blest resting- *
place,
The first I marked among them paused and lingered on ber
track : —
I marvelled much what tie had power to hold that spirit back.
I gazed. I saw a babe whose head lay resting on her breast.
His dimpled arm caressingly about her neck was prest
His rosy lip lay nigh to hers ; his clear dark eye the while
Seemed waiting but a glance from her to flash into a smile*.
Digitized by
Google
ON THB DEATH OF THE PRINCESS BORGHESE. 43
One gush of natural tenderness, one pang of filial grief.
Passed o'er that mother's lovelj face ; but ah ! their stay was
brief.
Soon radiant grew her up-raised brow ; her meek eyes filled
with prayer : —
*^ My God ! to thee my sons I bring, thou wilt preserve them
there."
From earth they rose, a beauteous group in solemn, slow array;
My joyous heart went with them all, upon their homeward way.
And plain I marked the foremost, yet, bound by some unseen
ties,
Hover one moment o'er the earth, as tho' she feared to rise.
For there was one who held her back, and on her garment knelt^
In whose sad eyes, an untold depth of sleepless anguish dwelt :-^
" My child ! my child ! " she wildly raved ; " O ! cans't thoU
leave me so ?
Without one word, without one look — who can support such
woe?"
While yet she prayed and vainly wept, the bright one soared
away ;
And as she rose from earth towards heaven, she said, or seemed
to say ; —
" Mother, farewell ! I leave you one ; cherish her for my sake ;
God so ordained, that these, my boys, to heaven I should take."
They floated on, they floated on; now brighterworlds they gain,
Their skirts of fleecy splendour sweep the blue ethereal plain.
When lo ! another band came down in heavenly form and vest,
Around whom breathed soft airs of peace, an atmosphere of rest.
As messengers of joy they came, to guide on wings of love,
Their younger sister from this earth to her blessed home
above ;
Holy and pure as angels they : on her, their radiant eyes.
Brimful of heaven's own glory, smiled a welcome to the skies.
I saw them meet ; I saw them kneel wrapt in a long embrace,
And as they knelt a glory fell on each uplifted face.
Awhile, firom their excess of joy, they paused with folded wing9.
The silence of such rapture told unutterable things.
Then onward, onward, on they moved, towards higher fields of
light.
Whose glory all too dazzling grew for human sense or sight.
No longer could mine aching eyes the happy group perceive, —
Tor who such realms of joy could scan, yet in this dark world
live !
Digitized by
Google
44
LEAVES FROM MY JOURNAL.
24th June, 1850. — ^Who can resist the allurements of an
^^excursion-train?** Who can withstand the invitation that
railway directors put forth to us, to go to and return from, anj
given place for five or ten shillings less than the usual fare,
provided that we return within the specified time and do not
lose our tickets ? It is true that we may have nothing to do
at the place to which the invitation points; but who would
be an oyster or a limpet, fast glued to the same sedgy rock ?
More blissful by far the lot of a barnacle stuck to the keel of
3ome fast-sailing vessel that circles the globe in its orbit. The
barnacle must feel some of the joys that animate the terrestrial
travellen What says Byron ? —
** Now there is nothing gives a man such spirits,
Levening his blood as cayenne doth a cuny.
As going at full speed ; — no matter where its
Direction be so *tis but in a hurry ;
And merely for the sake of its own merits.
And the less cause there is of all this flurry.
The greater is the pleasure in arriving
At the great end of travel which is— driving.**
To be sure the noble poet referred to travelling by coach or
with post-horses : railways were then unimagined ; but as rail way
travelling by ordinary trains is more than twice, and by express
trains mora than four times, as fast as even the Quick»lver
falmouth mail of former times, the pleasure of the sensations
produced must be proportionately greater. Tell me not that
railway travelling lacks the variety of the old mail coach system ;
that you cannot see the country ; that you feel not the excite-
ment consequent upon sitting behind four prancing horses. I
own that you lose die entertaining conversation of the coachman
who, as he gracefully handles the ribbons, used to discourse
eloquently of the glossy sleek-coated screws — kickers or jibbers,
broken- winded or broken-kneed — whom he had trained to gallop
before him at what seemed to be their natural pace — as Van
Amburgh trained his beasts : I own that the road vrinds not
around hawthorn hedges, up hill and down dale —
** Tramp, tramp o*er pebble and splash, splash through puddle.*'
I own that you are not exposed to a pelting rain in your £Eice,
while the umbrella of the passenger behind you disgorges its
Digitized by
Google
LEAVES FROM MY JOURNAL. 41^
flood just inside the collar of your coat : these, I admit, are^
pleasures that used to be peculiar to mail-coach travelling, when
the box-seat on the mail to Exeter or to York was an object of
ambition to eyery man of spirit : but still I assert that a railway-
carriage has its variety, its charms, its attractions sufficient to
compensate to all who do not like to be as long as possible on
the road. We have all, indeed, heard of the old woman who,,
when the dentist who had extracted her tooth without pain or
difficulty demanded a shilling for his fee, complained that she
had paid no more to his neighbour who, in drawing one out the
week before, bad dragged her three times round his surgenr :-^
so there be some travellers who like to be as long as possible on
the road — who have heard that time is money, and who like to
have their pennyworth for their penny. But to the matter of fact
traveller, to him who looks upon travel as a means to an end —
as a means of reaching a given spot — ^who, with a late Dean of
Ghristchurch, would consider a country dance as "only a very
roundabound way of going from one to the other end of the
room ** — to such an one, I would recall the pleasing study of
human nature which is offered by the manner and language
of clerks and porters at the stations — varied, with beautiftil
nicety, as they have to deal with applicants for first, second, or
third class tickets. I would ask such an one if there is no
enjoyment in seeing the bubbling engine come puffing and
groaning up as if it were the embodiment of the ghosts of all the
broken-winded roarers displaced from all the mail-coaches in
England ? I would ask him if no sensation is produced by the
steady rumble, grumble, thorough base voice of the lengthened
train as it grinds and growls along the quivering rails ? I would
ask him if he does not experience all the pleasure of a surprise
when the whistle of the engine-driver breaks suddenly forth as
if a thousand pigs were being made into sausages at once, while
the train dashes into the gloom of the White Ball or Box tunnels
though it were accompanying the souls of the said pigs to their
darksome Stygian lake ? And then when the break is put on— r
is it nothing to feel the whole carriage shivering direcdy under
one : to feel a grating beneath the seat on which we sit, and a
quivering mesmeric motion, as if one's body were put en rapport
with some strange machinery, and one's very bowels were being
wound up within one ? Oh ! depend upon it, that railway
travelling has its sensations, its delights, its variety even when
the trains do not run off the road nor into one another. Acci-
dents will happen in the best regulated families ; so will such
occur in that magnificently-conceited establishment — ^the Oreat
Western.
To return to the beginning: — The station at Exeter was
Digitized by
Google
46 LBAVBS FROM UY JOURNAL.:
covered with handbills, announcing that ezcarsion-trains wer^
on the point of starting, on most advantageous terms, to accom-
Inodate those who might wish to go up to London to be present
at the illumination on the coronation-daj, and at the great
meeting of the bishops and clergy, convened for the twenty^
seventh instant, to declare the &ith of the Anglican Church,
jeopardised by the Gorhamite decision of the Privy Council.
Who could resist such a double attraction ? Eagerly I ordered
my baggage to be plastered " Paddington," letter " W :*' eagerly.
I took my ticket and ensconced myself in the comer of a carriage,
wh^ence I could secure the best view of all that should pass at
die different stations ; where I could hold my place uninterrupted
by squalling baby or garrulous-looking old gentleman : say my
prayers : study Bradshaw's problems : and dream :— r
** Sogna il guerrier le schiere,
Le selve il caociator;
E sogna il pescator
Le reti e 1* amo :
Sopito in dolce oblio,
Sogno pur io oosi
Colei che tutto il di.
Sospiro e chiamo."
'* The soldier dreams of armed bands,
The hunter of the wood,
And dreams the fisherman, he stands
And whips the eddying flood.
To sweet oblivion a prey,
I dream thus, even I,
Of her on whom the livelong day
I call, for whom I sigh."
The translation is not exquisite ; but it is literal, and made at
railway pace.
It was not possible to tell how many of my fellow-passengeril
by that train — there were about five hundred of us — were hurry^
ing up to London to see the illuminations : those who were bent
fo attend the new grand convocation were more easily discernible.
Black clothes, white neckcloths, well-studied ties, demure lookS|
and well-shaven chins, denoted the would-be priest of the would-?
be high Anglican Church. At every important station, we took
in one or two : the numbers who joined us at each place testified
po the religious feeling of the district. Taunton and Bridge water
Digitized by
Google
LEAVES FROM MT JOURKAL. 47
seemed to be most prodactive of the genus, Pusej. At one of
these stations, it was curious to see a Passionist Father in the
dress of his order, elbow his way through the reverend press
with a calm and definite expression — free from the d£)ubts and
hesitation that evidently perplexed the features of the puzzled
Anglicans. None heeded the dress of the Passionist ^^ I am
afraid," said one of these reverend fathers, ^^ that there is so
much liberality in the country that I have no chance of being
rolled in the gutter for my habit and my fBiith."
The journey was over at last. Even railroad joumies now
appear slow and wearisome. How it was that we encountered
our lengthened travel by coach, who shall now declare? I have
heard some assert that, as the wind is tempered to the shorn
lamb, so we were hardened to endure that which we had to
undergo. Who of us, remembering the careless confidence with
which he took his place outside an Edinburgh or even a York
mail, can now understand the ease, the matter-of-courseness with
which he went through the journey ? Which of us would not
shudder at having to do it now ? I remember once, indeed,
travelling from a southern department to Paris, in a. diligence,
for three days and two nights consecutively; arriving late in the
evening at Paris ; dressing and going to a soiree, where I stayed
till three o'clock in the morning. I am stronger now than I was
then : but I could not do it now. Railroads have spoiled us.
But railway travelling becomes irksome after seven hours ;
and I rejoiced as we drew near Padditigton station, t had been
wearied with the endless variety of pronunciation evinced by
guards and porters, each calling out ever}' station with difierent
emphasis, so that no stranger could have understood where he
was ; I had been unable to deduce a single q. e. d. from the
problems of Bradshaw's Guide-book ; I had dropped comfort-
ably asleep over the report of the last Protectionist gathering at
Liverpool; and had been awakened by the points of two well-
starched white ties, that joined us at the Didcot and Oxford
station, and which, protruding on each side, tickled my right
and my left cheek, like the whisker of a foreigner when he
embraces you: in self-defence, and to whUe away the thirty
miles from Beading to London, I pulled out my pencil and
tablets ; and after suitable invocation to the muse, I thus began
— counting my fingers with all the regularity which the shaking
of the carriage would admit of : — when the metre fails, or a
foot is missing, I doubt not that either the carriage gave a
lurch, or the break was wound up within me, or the whistle
screamed as we cut through a cow sleeping on the rails, or
run over half a dozen labourers. These, then, were my
Digitized by
Google
4ft LEAVES FROM MY JOURNAL.
RAILROAD VERSES.
1
There is a loye in idleness,
Skin deep, that only tries
To humour fancies, meaningless —
Vain, fleeting sympathies.
2
There is a love of vanity,
Of flirting, and of pride ;
Where beauty, riches, passion yie.
And all are glorified.
3
There is a youthful, hopeful love
All fire and energies,
That feels as it could mountains move —
And moyes them when it tries.
4
There is a love of memory.
When all it lov'd is gone ;
That only feels 'twere bliss to die,
For life, hope, love is done.
5
There is a love that passion moves
All fondness, glances, fire ;
That, while it sees the object loves :— ^
Unseen, the flames expire.
6
There is a love that seeks for love ;
That only seeks to cling
For aye : that would not, could not rove—
Itself redoubling.
7
There is a love — so calPd, at least —
That looks for wealth in love ;
That looks for settlements increased,
A love that jointures prove.
8
There is a love that would resign
Its all on earth to express
Its love, and think the loss a gain —
Too blest that it could bless.
Digitized by
Google
LEAVES FROM MY JTOCRNAL. 49
9
There is a love that cannot live
Without society ;
That routs and dinners still must give.
And with its neighbours vie.
10
There is a love of Mary Queen,
So holj, pure, and bright,
It solaces for what has been.
Sheds hope o^er darkest night
11
There is a love of Christ, her Son :
Oh let it ever be —
Now — always — when this life is done.
And for eternity.
12
All otiser love may pass away.
The lov'd one mithless prove : —
Thou, Jesus, Thou wilt love repay,
And give us love for love-
Id
There is a love so firm and trae.
So centred all in One —
But here the break my song breaks through ;
We are at Paddington.
14
Give up your ticket Seek the l)us.
Go try what you can do.
And may your love not make a fuss,
But prove her love is true.
And so we all dispersed to our different vocations. ''A
man must labour in his vocation." What is mine? Time
may, perchance, evolve.
PoaUcript, — In copying these leaves irom my journal, I will
record here the result of the High Church gathering, for which
excursion tickets bad beeii issued, and to which the little
clerical world of England had looked forward with as much
anxiety as poor Goldsmith did to his haunch of venison, when
he only saw,
".In the middle, a place where the pasty— was not"
vol.. XII. E
Digitized by
Google
50 LEAVES FROM MY JOURNAL.
The convocation, after having been advertised and 'bepnSed
all over England,* did not take place :— was not even adjourned
sine die. The contrivers of it could not get the courage of the
High Church party to the sticking place ; could not get up the
steam : the world looked coldly on ; it was tired of the Phillpotts
and Gorham case ; it said " A plague upon both your houses ;"
it thought it wiser "to let ill alone." The French have a
proverb, applicable to a midden — or to the Anglican Church —
"plus ou le remueetplus — il donne de mauvaise odeur" — ^I
believe we have the same in English, but I prefer quoting the
foreign :
" For although the phrase on good manners intrench,
I assure you *tis not half so shocking in French."
So wise men — and the public collectively is generally wise —
so wise men thought "that least said" (about the judgment of
the Privy Council) "soonest mended:" it refused to be excited;
it refused to be again stirred up to fever heat ; and the whole
affair reminded one only of the West Indian's breakfast : —
" Sambo," cried the planter to his slave, " Sambo, does my
coffee boil?"
" No, massa ; me spit in him but he no phizzle."
So the High Church party had appealed to the country to see
if it could be again made to boil up on the Gorham case — ^^ but
he no phizzle."
27th. — What a curious assembly is the House of Commons !
I allude not to the score of speakers, of stars, of those who,
like me and Mr. Anstey, exhibit nightiy for the entertain-
ment (?) of the public through the newspapers ; but to the
great bulk of members ; to those who really and truly constitute
the house, who represent public opinion, and do the work of
the country in committee-rooms. How listiessly they lie dozing
along the benches in the gallery : — ^how earnestly they converse
together: — with what heartfelt ennui they yawn while, hour
after hour, we put forth our platitudes, and sway our arms, and
spout and spout, like so many leaden pumps ! And yet if
either of us enunciate a sentiment, or make a passing remark
that may tell for or against our party — ^if we make a blunder
and expose ourselves — how instantly the talking, the yawning,
the sleeping members prick up their ears, and, almost without
checking their conversation, closing their half opened jaws, or
waking from the doze they are enjoying on the benches, cry
««* ?^® programme of it, copied from the "Times," was ffivcn in the July
number of the Maguine, page 335.— [Ed. Cath. Mao. & R«o.]
Digitized by
Google
LEAVES FROM MY JOURNAL. 51
"Hear! hear!" or "Oh! oh!" or laugh or cheer; as if by
intuition or electricity they knew that something had been said
which it behoved them to notice ! How perfectly are they
able to ascertain beforehand the result of every important
debate ! This evening, we were discussing the Palmerstonial
policy ; and while the world out of doors was speculating upon
the result of the debate, every member in the house knew —
although we shall not divide for these three days — ^that ministers
will have a majority of about fifty. Then how unaccountably
does news from the outer world reach uu in the sanctuary
whence we govern it ! Even now, Sidney Herbert is speaking ;
hut we have just heard that the Queen has been assaulted.
We have heard of the dastardly outrage ; but we have, also,
heard that the attack was the act of a madman; although,
as Mr. Baron Alderson will state, he was not mad enough to
think that he had a glass head : if he had, will say the judge,
if Mr. Pate, the prisoner, had fancied that his own pate was
made of glass, and that Her Majesty was about to break it^ be
might be excused from striking her in self-defence : but he did
not think so ; and, therefore, not "having windows of glass, he
had no right to throw stones."
The charge of the judge was excellent, and the law clearly
announced. I wish I could say as much of the evidence given
by Sir James Clark. He is M.D. to the Queen, and ought to
know something of phrenology ; but bis science puzzles all the
followers of Dr. Gall and Dr. Donovan. Sir James says that
the wound was inflicted " on the right angle of Her Majesty's
forehead." Now we have just heard of heads of glass, but I
never heard of an "angular" head ; and I hastened out of court
to the bumpological institution, in King William Street, to
ascertain what organ could have so developed itself in the brain
of our gracious Sovereign. Professor Donovan was as much
puzzled as I was : all the best organs are, in truth, seated at
the side of the forehead : but we examined casts of every
character — from the heads of Bush and Greenacre, in the
lowest scale, to that of Dr. Franklin in the highest — from that
of my fair companion, whom he pronounced to be " an artful
dodger," to my own cranium, which he considered a "very
pretty type," the owner of which might excel ia-every intel*
lectual ambition —but nowhere could we find a skull that had
"a right angle" to it. Sir James Clark, as you value the
peace of mind of her Majesty's subjects, I call upon you to
explain your evidence !
July 12th. — But sadder memories now linger around the
House of Commons. Lord Palmerston had defended his
foreign policy in ft speech, that was admitted by his opponenta
E 2
Digitized by
Google
52 LEAVES FROM MY JOURNAL.
to be one of the most magnificent ever delivered in the house :
Sir Robert Peel^ had, for the first time for four years, banded
with the adversaries of the government, which, since he was
removed from office, he had liberally supported : and although
the ministry had triumphed against all sections of hostUe
opinion, the country was filled with reports that coalitions were
about to be formed; that Sir Robert Peel was to be a^ain
forgiven by those whom he had deserted, and was again to
sway the destinies of this great country. But a Greater than
he had decided otherwise. He had reeled in his saddle ipvbile
riding in the park ; had fallen in what was known to be a fit,
however it might be attempted to be disguised. Sir Robert
Peel is no more.
12th July. — I have waited to hear in what manner the
deceased statesman would be spoken of by the expounders of
public opinion, before I noted down my own impressions;
for as it will be expected that an organ of English Catholicism
should pay some tribute to the memory of him who carried
through the legislature the emancipation of our co-religionists,
I will offer these leaves of my journal to the Editor of the
^Catholic Magazine,'' who may, perhaps, insert them, unless
he has prepared an article of his own on the subject. It is
impossible to deny that the feeling of regret throughout this
country and Europe was never greater or more general since
the death of Canning ; but, whatever journalists may assert to
the contrary, the regret now evinced is of a totally different
character from that which then oppressed all thinking and
feeling minds. Sir Robert Peel is mourned as an utilitarian
minister — with an utilitarian, a shop-ocratic grief : the death of
Canning moved the chivsdrous, the romantic, the literary, the
disinterested sympathies of the most refined and educated
portion of the world. And this is and was the natural result
of the career of both statesmen. I am not about to institute a
parallel : but merely to record that the minister of finance and
of trade is appropriately and fitly mourned in a commercial
age. He was the administrator of the public mind ; and, as
such, the public mind laments his loss. He was nothing more.
That Sir Robert Peel was in himself a great man, or had the
germs of greatness and of genius, I utterly deny. He was
what the French might call un grand homme manqu4. In no
one instance did he lead public opinion : he only carried out
measures on which public opinion had already resolved : as
well might you call the guard who sits behind the mail a good
coachman, as term the minister who only expounded the
feelings of the country a great statesman. Voltaire said of
some one that he had been a clever man, but that now there
Digitized by
Google
LEAVES FROM MY JOURNAL. 58
was some one more clever than he, ^'et ce quelqu* un c* est tout
le monde — and ibis some one is every one/' The epigram
is quite apposite to the career of Sir R. Peel. Was it he who
carried the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts ? Was
it he who carried Catholic Emancipation ? Who will believe
that he would have done either had not O'Connell compelled
the concession ? While recommending the Catholic measure
in parliament. Sir Robert distinctly stated that he disapproved
of it, and was acting against his own convictions. Is he to be
remembered as a great man for this conduct ?
Let me not be told, that I am ungenerous — ungratefiil to him
who worked out my emancipation. The Duke of Wellington
said that he granted it rather than encounter civil war. \^en
a thief robs me, and is only moved by the dread of the gallows
to return my property, I feel no thankfulness towards him.
My thankfulness is to the policeman, O'Connell, who compelled
the restitution.
And in the case of the other of the two great legislative
measures which must be ever connected with the administration
of Sir Robert Peel — who will say that it was he who carried
the abolition of the Com Laws ? Who does not know that it
is to be attributed to the Whigs, who, for years, urged the
repeal upon successive parliaments, and finally to Cobden, who
organized the masses out of doors to insist upon it? Sir
Robert Peel himself, in an ungenerous speech, passed over Mr.
Villiers and his party, and gave the whole credit of the measure
to Mr. Cobden. We all, indeed, remember the solemn and
public pledges which he gave the country through parliament
against the repeal of the Com Laws ; I do also remember the
private pledges, which, as one gendeman addressing other
gentlemen, he made to the Protectionist members of the
house, when, accepting a dinner from them, he vowed himself
to their cause I forgot how many weeks before he joined
Mr. Cobden's ranks.
I do not record these things invidiously ; but in justice to
living statesmen, — for the sake of public morality, let them be
remembered. A parliamentary opposition is as much a part of
the government of this country as the government itself; but if
public men are to play fast and loose with their principles, to
pass over from one side of the house to the other as their
opinion of the requirements of public good (I will impute no
base motive to Sir Robert Peel) may demand, there will be an end
to parliamentary govemment, and to all faith in public men.
I say, that I impute no base motive to our departed states-
man ; but why is Mr.. Newdegate silent ? Why do those who,
for the last thirty years, have declared that private interest and
Digitized by
Google
64 LEAVES FROM MY JOURNAL.
private profit dictated the terms on which our metallic currency
was restored — why are these men and their organs silent?
Why do they join in the general eulogy of him whom they have
BO long held up to us for reprobation i The maxim that good
only should be said of the dead may be a kind one : but the
sentiment of public justice is outraged when public men concur
in the adulation of those whom, living, they declared to be
public criminals.
Unmeasured surprise has been expressed that Sir Robert
Peel should have left an injunction upon all the members of his
family to refuse any title of honour that might be offered in con-
liequence of public services rendered by him. Such a posthu-
mous refusal of a peerage for his family is without a parallel :
and various high and enthusiastic motives have been assigned as
i[ts cause. But Sir Robert Peel was no enthusiast : eminently
oaatter of fact— prudent and cautious ; his refusal must have
been inspired by this mental organization. Has it not occurred
to any one that he may have thought the family and the property
of a commoner more safe that that of a peer in the coming times
which his foresight may have anticipated ? He had seen revo-
lutions : he had heard thunder-clouds even over our own heads.
He was sprung from the people : he never wished to be other
than a man of the people : the motto under his arms, with which
he sealed all his letters, was Industria. Was that motto
assumed or retained without motive i
And now subscriptions are being raised throughout the
country to erect a monument to him whose loss we deplore : a
** Peel hospital" is to be built, and we are to have *^ a poor
man's monument." Will this be in accordance with the wishes
of him in whose honour they are to be raised ? I will record a
fiEU^t which cannot be known to many : — a few weeks since, it
was proposed to erect a monument to Wordsworth — ^an utilita-
rian monument on the principle now suggested. A valued friend
of mine objected to the principle : he said that he would sub-
scribe for a monument to the Poet, and that he would subscribe
for a poor man's washhouse — either apart from the other : but
that he would not kill two birds with one stone — he would not
mix up the fame of the author with his own private alms : and
beautifully, but rather irreverently, though I am sure he did not
BO intend it, he quoted the words of our Saviour, when the
Pharisees objected that the precious ointment " wasted" upon
His feet might have been given to the poor — " the poor you
have always with you." Prince Albert was appealed to and
acknowledged the same feeling : Sir Robert Peel was applied
to and strongly objected to the erection of a monument with so
divided an object.
Digitized by
Google
LEAVES FROM MY JOURNAL. 55
/* as it is DOW the fashion to call these ^^ bodies
of our humiliation/* the remains of the statesman were, we are
told, conveyed to Tamworth, " by the mail train.** Was this
seemly — that they should go on a truck, with other luggage
and dead goods, at the tail of a passenger and post-office train ?
I am, doubtless, a simple body ; but I think that private feeling
and public decorum was outraged.
20th July.— Another death has occurred which, the public
mind being moved to grief, has excited more notice than it
would otherwise have called forth : the poor old Duke of Cam-
bridge can no longer preside over charity boards and dinner-
tables : and the public has been called upon to provide for his
son, because the father had given away his income in charity,
and had charged the son*s fortune with the payment of annui-
ties. People are often generous with other people's money :—
and the income of the old Duke of Cambridge weia that of the
public out of which he ought to have provided for his offspring.
But Robert Pate*s assault upon the Queen has aroused the
loyalty of all classes, and from Lord John to Disraeli all, except
old Hume, eagerly toady royalty, and have voted ^12,000 a
year to its remote limb, who is to have besides his father's
colonelcy, worth at least £3,000 a year, his paternal estate of
j£l,200, and the annuities, as they drop in, about j£d,000 more.
We may thank Robert Pate for much of this excess : and in the
mean time, if we could calculate how many additions there may
be " to her Majesty's domestic happiness," and how many
children each of these may hereafter transmit to the nation's
fostering generosity, we might, by multiplying the number by
twelve thousand, ascertain the provision our children will have
to make for them.
Verily Sir Robert Peel was a prudent man !
21. — I have just heard one of the prettiest sermons that were
ever delivered. The Right Rev. Dr. Wiseman preached this
day after Vespers at the Convent of the Good Shepherd, at
Hammersmith, lliis being the festival of the patron Saint of
the establishment — the gaudy day as it is called at Magdalen
College. The subject was, indeed, very elegantly and eloquently
handled, and produced a contribution equal, I trust, to the
hopes of the sainted founders of the establishment. Confirma-
tion was then administered to four of the penitents : and then
the Benediction of the most Holy Sacrament was given by the
Bishop. Several Protestants were present ; and aU seemed to
be either touched by the service or to witness it with respect and
sympathy : all except one old lady, dressed in black, who sat
bolt upnght, looking spiteful and malignant during the whole of
the blessed service, while he, who was evidently her husband^
Digitized by
Google
56 LEAVES FROM MY JOURNAL.
deToady prayed and crossed himself at her side. What a
happy couple, methought, you must be ! What a similarity of
interests, what an union of soul, what a heavenly sympathy you
must enjoy ! Who would not approve of mixed marriages ! . • . .
Praiseworthy and blessed, indeed, mixed marriages may be
when the unbelieving one is endowed (not with the spirit of
stem, narrow-minded bigotry, or worse still, perhaps, with that
of self-sufficient liberality, but) with a feeling of sincere piety to
God, which shall make him or her anxious to discover the truth,
and of wedded love which shall cause that truth to be received
the more gladly as imparted by a beloved object. When these
two qualifications exist, unity of belief will soon follow : when
they do not exist, this world can never be a part of heaven,
which it must be for wedded life to be happy ; without such
union of soul, wedded life must be, indeed, sad : so, at least, I
fancy my two neighboiurs in the chapel of the convent must
have found it.
We were talking over the service at dinner ; and I, who was
as yet the only Catholic present, and not known to be one,
remarked upon one fair girl. Miss E., whom I had observed
amid the crowd in the corridors of the convent.
" Do you think her pretty ? " superciliously inquired my op-
posite neighboiur.
" Very ;" I answered ; " I singled her out amongst a hun-
dred."
*' Ah : well : some people do : and she has a good fortune,
too :" he replied : " but then," he added, ''there must be a some-
thing : there always is : — she is a Catholic."
Converts ! to you I address myself. You are joining us in
scores: clergymen, titled men, guardsmen, and Oxford men:
take pity on our Catholic girls ! Instead of entering into holy
orders, where, I freely a<knit, you do incalculable good, take
unto yourselves wives of our sweet and pure Catholic maidens :
let it appear that their religion is no longer a hindrance to their
wedded advancement ; demonstrate that it lA rather a recom-
mendation, that it insures a bon parti : So will you recommend
our faith to hundreds of worldly-minded parents who are
repelled from us by the thought that it might mar the prospects
of their daughters : so will you make hundreds of Protestant
girls think how envious is the lot of a Catholic girl who is sure
of picking up a nice, sentimental, serious, loving, thoughtfiil-eyed
husband : so will you prove Catholicism to be the best religion
for husband-seeking daughters, as it has always been (so Charles
the Second said of it) " the only religion for a gentleman :" so
will you be not only converts yourselves, but the cause of con-
versions unnumbered in others !
Digitized by
Google
LEAVES FROM MY JOURNAL. 57
My party walked through the garden and the meadow of the
convent — through the quarters of the penitents, and through the
corridors and cells of the nuns; and I longed/ as every one
going through a convent must long, that Providence had cast
my lot within its tranquil walls. According to the fashion in
the East, where verses of the Koran are inscribed on the walls,
every archway here bore some sentiment from holy writ, and
the cells were designated by the name of a saint, instead of
being numbered or distinguished by the names of cities or of
stars, as they are in hotels in many parts of England. We
rather liked this plan when the meaning of it was explained
to us.
I remember some two years ago, reading a very pretty
little book, compiled by one of the nuns of this convent, to ex-
plain the object of the institution and its rules : they were set
forth in an elegantly-written story. I wish that some of the
volumes had been placed on a table at the entrance ; for sure I
am that many persons would gladly have purchased them.
I cannot leave the convent without remarking upon the sing-
ing. Certainly it was not scientific : certainly it was not all in
haxmony : but it came from untaught and humble worshippers ;
was sincere and heartfelt ; and contrasted well with the music
which I had heard that morning at the Spanish Chapel, where a
scientific orchestra, singing the Credo, had asked fifteen times
for ** life everlasting,*^ and had insisted upon having it in forty-
nine ^'amens.'*
27th July. — The cholera is in London. It has proclaimed
itself unmistakably, severely. By the blessed providence of
God, many weary of this life may be taken to a happier world.
But let none hereafter lament, in cant phraseology over ^'sudden
deaths by cholera.** The danger is announced to us : let us
prepare for it : I tremble as I write if we are not prepared it will
be our own fault.
Digitized by
Google
58
REGISTER
NEW PUBLICATIONS. CORRESPONDENCE, AND EVENTS.
The Editor of the Catholxo Maoazinb avd Begtstbb desires that his Corres-
p<mdent3 and Contributors may alone be held responsible for the opinions and
sentiments that each may express. But he invites oar Venerable Clergy and all
Catholics to send him information un all matters of religious interest in their
seTeral neighbourhoods.
NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.
The Spirit and Genius of St, Philip Neri. Lectures delivered at the Oratory,
King William'Sireet, By F. W. Faber. Burns and Lambert. 1850.
' This is a most charming volume. We know not when we have read any-
thing the style of which so much pleased us. It contains three lectures
which were delivered this spring. The first exhibits St. Philip as a portrait
of Jesus : the second describes him as the representative saint of modem
times : the third shows us St. Philip in England. We have looked through
the volume to select some passages for quotation : but we really find it
difficult to extract any as more admirable than the others ; we will only,
therefore, particularise the preacher's loving address to St. Philip, at the end
of the first lecture; and his remarks on the changes of the unchangeable
Church, with the varying spirit of the centuries through which it lives.
The style of each aiscourse is so warm and unaffected that the very spirit
of St. Philip Neri breathes through every page.
The Paradise of the Christian Soul, delightful for its choicest pleasures of
piety of every kind. By James Merlo Horstius. Translated from the Latin.
By lawful authority. Bums and Lambert. 1850.
Here is a goodly Prayer-book, in 24mo, containing more than seven
hundred pages, the table of contents to which occupies seventeen pages, and
the index 6fteen. In such a mass of pious reading, it is impossible that
there should not be much that is excellent, much that is beneficial. But the
services are not those that are in use in this country : they are too multi-
tudinous and too little practical for our every day working Catholics : the
language is too exaggerated for modem habits of thought : and we fear there
is httle chance that the work will have any circulation amongst us. This is
a pity ; as the volume is carefully got up. It is adorned by several prints.
[We have to regret that, owing to the miscarriage of a parcel, we cannot,
this month, extend our notice of new publications. — Ed, Cath. Mao.
AND RbG.]
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 69
CORRESPONDENCE.
Je8u Christi Passio.
Hon. and Rbv. Spencer on the Conversion of England.
Dear Sir. — There is nothing which pleases xne better than to be allowed
to address myself, on the conversion of England, to a set of Catholic
children assembled in a school, and to call on them to enlist as soldiers for
the great conquest. I generally begin by making them declare their
acceptance of the proposfd by a show of hands. I'he next step is to ask
— But what will you do to help ns ? I have been delighted to observe how,
in almost every instance, they make the answer I wish for : We fnust pray.
Yes, I say, quite right; that is the first thing; but we must do something
more besides praying, and they almost always guess right again : We tmut
Sive good example, and then good instruction. We often close the conference
y way of a hearty, merry clapping of hands, to show we are ready to
rush on to the battle, and look on it as almost already gained, as indeed.
Catholics in general, it might be, I believe, if you would but be a little
more in earnest. We may, perhaps, return again hereafter to the subject of
the children. This time I wish to suggest another answer for grown people
to the question: What must we do besides praying? The children's
answer will do very well for us too ; give good example, learn your religion,
and be ready in season to instruct others : but I mean something else at
present, and I propose that English Catholics, besides praying and gaining
prayers from all their brethren in the Catholic Church for the conversion of
England to the faith, should also undertake to make all good Protestants pray
for the same object. And is that possible ? you will say. Perfectly so, I
answer. Not, indeed, that we can expect them to pray for this object
exactly as we do ; that is, in the same terms ; but still they may be moved
to pray for the very same object under a different form. They will not
refuse, I mean good consistent Protestants will not refuse, to pray for this
country to be brought to unity in the truth ; and what is this but to be
brought to the Catholic Church ? for where can unity be but there ? where
is truth but there ? There are some, it is true, especially among Dissenters,
who will maintain that our divisions are so trifling as not to be worth
notice; others that divisions are not only no such great evilcTas some make
them out to be, but even are of advantage to the cause of religion ; but
such as these are a small minority. Far the greater part acknowledge that
the object proposed is excellent, and that the method proposed for gaining
it is quite unobjectionable; they assure me that they do pray for this
object; some even express themselves as almost offended at the request
being made, as intimating the idea that any could call themselves Christians
and not do it ; and the generality promise to co-operate by making the
same proposal to others, I hpeak principally of clergymen of the Church
of England, for I have visited but few persons with this proposal besides
them. This has been for want of time. If I had time. I should wish to
move to this prayer all the people of this country, one by one, and to call
on them again and again, till no one could get the thought out of his
mind. As I cannot do this myself I mention it here, in the hope that some
lovers of England will take up the work, and it may spread. There is one
lady, whose name I do not here mention, who has undertaken this to my
great consolation. She tells me that she makes it a practice, in her visits
among the poor in the neighbourhood of her residence, to request of all the
Catholics to say every day the Hail Mary for the conversion of England,
and of all the Protestants to pray likewise ; and as they, poor souls, cannot
Digitized by
Google
60 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
say the Hail Mary, she asks fhem, as I suf^f^^ested, to say an Oar Father
for the object. It is easy to see how every sentence of that Divine prayer
is applicable to the end of brinf^in^ all to unity in the truth ; and so, by the
way, I would ask Catholics too, when they repeat it, always to have this
in view. If other ladies would take it up, it would be a most interesting^
object for their walks, and an immense good would be done. For if once
we had the Catholics in England stirred to pray for the conversion of the
country, and supported by the prayers of Catholics all through the world ;
and idl good Protestants moved to prav, as I have proposed ; I do not see
how others may view the case, but I for one cannot see how the reunion
of all that is good in England in the bosom of the true Church could
possibly be distant; and if the good were once united, we should, at least,
nave a hetter prospect of correcting and converting the bad, than while
the well-disposed are vrasting and neutralising their energies by contending
with each other.
If some zealous Catholics in England and Ireland will take up this cause,
I would suggest a warning which many have given me, and of which I see
the great importance. We must not let people imagine that we, lika them,
are in a state of doubt or inquiry about the faith. No I let everv thing be
done with simplicity. No people like to be imposed upon ; perhaps none
10 little as the English. Let them fairly understand that our object is to con-
vert all to the Catholic Church, and that our conviction is that, if they will in
earnest begin to pray for unity in the truth, with the disposition, which, of
course, all should entertain when thev do it, of sacrificing for truth the
prejudices under which God sees they tnemselves may be labouring, we are
infallibly sure the result must be their all coming to us. But we must not
allow them to object to the prayer on this account. For if our religion is
true, as we are sure it is, why should they fear being brought to it ? If it
were possibly false, which we know and tell them it cannot be, the matter
being thus carried before God's own throne by all parties, would sorely
make the error manifest to ourselves. But the very making of the prayers,
which we have proposed, for unity in the truth, which naturally and
necessarily, in the mind and mouth of the Catholic, take the form of praying
positively for the conversion of all to our faith; while they will, in the
minds of others, as naturally and necessarily be accompanied with more
or less uncertainty of what the real result of them ought to be; will be an
irresistible evidence to thinking people that God's full truth and real perfect
faith is with us, and nowhere else. Another warning is, not to let it seem
as if we were joining them in prayer. Let them be told they may join us in
prayer, if thev please ; we cannot join them. Protestants do not like our
principle of holding no communion in holy things with any out of the
Church ; but let them know it, as it is. The knowledge of it will at least
show them that the division between us is, indeed, no light matter ; and
this truth, like all other tniths, however severe, if stated, as it may be,
with charity, will not be offensive to the good, and I believe there are
abundance of good people in England, who may be worked upon by honest
and simple, if, at the same time, charitable, dealing.
I am, dear Sir, your faithful Servant in Jesus Christ,
Ignatius op St. Paul, Passionist.
On the Re-Conversion of England.
To the Rev. Father Ignatius.
I am happy, venerated Father, that the thought expressed in mv recent
letter received its first birth in your mind rather than my own ; ana conse-
quently now take comfort in the hope that, ere long, you wUl be enabled.
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 61
under ^ due ftuthority/' to institute a rule of life for those (and I entertain
a heartfelt belief there would be many) who would desire to devote them«
eelres to the re^conirersion of our country, by good example, united with
gravers. And I believe also there would be found devout souls, actuated
y this holy and noble motive, who would aspire even to greater perfection
tnan might be required from the associates in generaL There are modifica-
tions of religious rules, such as the *' Third Order of St. Francis/* applicable
to persons living in the world, which, I doubt not, if proposed, would be
thankfully received and observed by many. But such an engagement could
of course only be made after due probation, and with permission of the
pastor, or of the spiritual superior of the fraternity.
New characteristics would Ukewise be appropriate to an institution
adapted to so specific a purpose; and whence snould they so fitly emanate
as from Father Ignatius of St. Paul ; and what could be more desired than
to see founded by his sealous hands, a minor order of " Passionists," to
co-operate with himself and his holy brotherhood, united with our other
angelic religious communities and our apostolic clergy, in England's
re-conversion ? Among the laity, who are assailed by all the daily trials
and seductions of the world, some further aid to virtue and sanctity would
indeed be acceptable. We look with almost envy upon the heavenly life of
the religious ; and, when favoured with an opportunity of a transient visit
to their sequestered, calm, and holy abodes, we sigh on returning to the
clamour of our worldly strife and battle. When, also, we behold our clergy
summoned from time to time to spiritual retreats, therein to renew their
fervour, we, poor laity, feel our necessities the more. This latter most holy
source of staoility in a good life, or of its restoration, if declining, I cannot
doubt, venerated Father, would come within the scope of the design you
have in view.
Humbly apologising for again intruding on your notice, I am, yours,
in the sincerest respect and esteem,
Osfford, July 9th. Unus.
ECCLESIASTICAL INTELLIGENCE.
Proposed Presxnt to His Holiness Pius IX. from the
Catholics of England. — An influential meeting of C/atho1ics was held
on the 25th instant, in Windmill-street, to take into consideration the
address of the Catholic Bishops, published at their annual meeting in
London, calling upon the clergy and laity of England to purchase a superb
remonstrance or ostensorium, now in England, as a present to his Holinees
Pope Pius the Ninth. Amongst the gentlemen present we noticed the Hon.
C. Stonor, the Rev. Thomas Hooker, D.D., and president of the Catholic
Colleges of SS. Peter and Paul, Prior Park, the Revs. J. O'Neill, J. Bamber ;
Messrs. Amherst, Bagshaw, Mostyn, Palmer, Ryan, Wallis, Dearsly, &c., &c.
The Right Rev. Dr. Morris, D.D., was called to the chair. Mr. Dearsly, in
proposing the first resolution, said his lordship would be aware that the
oishops at their annual meeting had called for the zealous co-operation
of the Catholics with them in showing some mark of sympathy with the
Holy Father in the many sorrows and lections which had lately visited His
Hohness. To that summons he, in common with Catholics in general,
responded with the most cordial enthusiasm. England might not do so
much as other countries, but she would do to the utmost. The testimonial
which they were about to present would, he hoped, in the language of the
bishops, speak of the |' faith, and the zeid, and the devotion " of the English
Catholics. He believed there was not a city, town, village, or
hamlet, but would vie with each other in a pofote rivalry in this good
Digitized by
Google
62 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
eM»e. An attempt to describe this superb ostensorium would be impossible.
Its value was auknown. The late Bishop Baines, so much lamented, and
whose exquisite taste and judgment in all things relating to the fine arts,
originally brought it from Rome. It had been designed for the Basilica of
St. Peter. It contained 1,600 precious stones. Its weight in gold and
silver they might imagine, when he stated that it stood four feet and a-half
in height. There was but one place in the world fit for it, and that was
St. Peter's, where it would be in harmony with everything around, and, by
its accumulations of riches and beauty, centre every eye and every heart on
the Holy of Holies. It was most gratifying to him to know that this move^
ment emanated from the bishops, and that it had the full sanction of that
revered and eminent prelate. Dr. Wiseman. Mr. Dearsly then moved
'* That the sum of £1,600 be raised to purchase the ostensorium as a present
to the Pope, on such occasion as the bishops may deem fit." Mr. Wallis
seconded the motion. Carried unanimously. On the motion of Mr. Amherst,
seconded by Mr. Palmer, a committee was appointed. Mr, Bagshaw then
proposed, and Mr. Ryan seconded, that his lordship should communicate
the resolutions of the meeting to the Right Rev. Nicholas Wiseman, D.D.,
V.A.L.D. Mr. Barnwell was appointed treasurer, and Mr. Palmer secretary*
pro tern. A vote of thanks was passed by acclamation to the Chairman.
This being the first occasion of a similar nature since the Reformation, the
utmost enthusiasm seemed to prevail.
Editorial Note. — The paragraph just given is taken from the "Catholic
Standard," (which we are glad to see assuming a hopeful position as a
weekly newspaper), and seems to call for some little notice on our part.
The ^* Standard" piiblished, on the 29th June, this paragraph, which is
the first allusion we have seen in any Catholic paper to the meeting of the
bishops, or to the proposed present to His Holiness. Our "Register,"
indeed, recorded that meeting three months ago; and stated that the remon-
strance was to be purchased by subscription, in order that the amount bo
collected might avail to discharge the remaining encumbrances upon the
colleges of Prior Park, and that the remonstrance itself might be presented
to His Holiness, as a token of our gratitude for the restoration of the
hierarchy. Within the last fortnight other Catholic organs have whispered
about this increase of the hierarchy, which we had thus announced. We
shall move the zeal of every Catholic to promote the object of the bishops
'when we state that the hint, that some acknowledgement should be made to
the Holy See, came from Rome itself : — ^although the resolution carried at
the meeting, and reported by the ** Standard" does not specify on what
occasion the present is now to be made.
It is far from our wish to remark invidiously upon our Catholic contem*
poraries: they can but report according to the intelligence conveyed to
them : we only regret the want of method which prevents that intelligence
from being regulariy and systematically distributed. Thus in the report
given from the ** Standard" allusion is made to an address pubUshea by
the Catholic bishops : we never heard of it, nor have we seen any record
of it in either the ** Standard" or "Tablet." Thus, too, the Catholic
journalists are left to collect as they can the accounts of the yearly examina-
tions of students at the Catholic colleges — such reports being sometimes
forwarded by chance correspondents in such a manner that, as lately
happened, they have to apologize for them. How beneficial would it be to
the colleges if authentic accounts of these matters were transmitted by the
colleges themselves to the editors of all Catholic periodicals I But it is a
misfortune that literary jealousies and hostility are supposed to exist where,
BO far as we are aware, none have been dreamed of.
While we are writing on these matters, we would call the attention of the
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 68
*' Standard*' to an impoiition which has been practited upon it. Our Jone
number contained a deacription of the Church at Erdington, which waa
forwarded to ua by a f^entleman, who took credit to himself for his f(n^
tuitous liberality : a fortnif(ht after we had published it the same report
appeared in the "Standard" as from its "own correspondent.'* It waa
evidently the same ; and it was evident, also, that the imposition was unknown
to the eaitor of the ** Standard" since several short useless passages were
restored by the writer, which we had struck out from the letter supplied
to us.
Let all CathoKo writers depend upon it that method, charitv, and union,
while labouring for the same cause, will most advance the object all hava
at heart— even their private speculations. Make your publications such
as to give a taste for reading, and you will incraaaa the number of readers.
— [Edit* Cath. Mao. Sc Reo.]
PARUAMENTARY RECORD.
JULY 15— PRKACHIKO IN UNKNOWN TONOUK8.
Sir B. Hall said, on the bringing up of the report, he would move that
the incomes of the English deans be reduced from £1,000 to £700 a-year,
the sum received by the Welsh deans. To show the effect of appointing
deans for Wales who were imperfectlv acquainted with the Welsh language,
he might mention that in a case which had come under his notice, the dean's
sermons were written by a person who had been a member of the Indepen-
dent body of Dissenters, but who had been expelled by them. This man was
on one occasion brought before the magistrates, among whom was the dean,
for neglecting to maintain his familv, when he said — addressing the dean —
" If you woidd pay me more than half-a-crown for 17 sermons I should be
able to maintain my wife and family, but I can't do so now." (" Hear,
hear/' and a laugh.)
Mr. J. Williams could bear out the statements of the hon. baronet as
to the inconvenience experienced from the imperfect acquaintance of the
clergy appointed to preierments in Wales with the Welsh language : On
one occasion a clergyman translating into Welsh the passage. " The
righteous shall inherit eternal life," used a Welsh phrase which signified —
" The goslings shidl devour the food of the geese." (Laughter.) It was not
to be wondered at that the whole congregation laughed at him. He found
on every hand Englishmen appointed'as bishops, deans, and to other inferior
offices in the church in Wales, and grasping munificent incomes as teachers
of the people, while they were totally ignorant of the language. There were
two brothers, sons of a late Bishop of St. Asaph, who did not understand a
word of the Welsh language, but whose incomes exceeded those of 87 carates
(hear, hear) ; and the house would scarcely believe, perhaps, that there were
two curates in St. Asaph who did duty every day in the year, and whose
annual income was only £30 each.
Dr. NiCHOLL hoped the noble lord (Lord J. Russell) would not consent
to any arrangement that Welshmen only should be appointed to ecclesiastical
preferments in Wales. He was himself an inhabitant of the diocese of
LJandaff, and he could say, that had the persons recommended to the noble
lord on the ground of their being Welshmen been appointed to preferments,
the greatest dissatisfaction would have been occasioned throughout the
whole of the diocese among both clergy and laity.
Mr. Drummond thought it seemed a sine qud non that the clergy- and
the bishop of a diocese should speak the language of the people. It was the
conduct of ecclesiastics which had brought matters to their present pass ;
Digitized by
Google
64 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
and because deans and chapters bad for years neglected tbeir duties, hon.
Sentlemen said tbej were of no use at aU. Persons who neglected their
uties were indeed of no use; but an argument from the neglect of an
individual who held an office was no argument against the office itself.
Clergymen connected with cathedrals had lumped together four services
whidi took place at such a time that the poor man if he attended could not
dine with his family in the middle of the day. It was the clergy of the
church who had destroyed the church, and what little Christianity then
prevailed was owing to Dissenters.
Mr. Hume wished the Welsh to be all taught to read English; but to
send Englishmen to Wales, who did not understand the language of the
principality, was a mockery.
Sir G. Gbbt referred to the testimony borne by a Welsh member on a
former occasion to the knowledge which the Bishop of Uandaff had shown
of the language in addressing a congregation.
Sir B. Hall would put the case that the Bishop of Llandaff was a
Welshman, and had been invited to consecrate a church in Maiylebone.
What would be said, supposing an address presented to him, if he were to
say that, as he did not understand English, ne would reply in Welsh ?
Sir G. Grey remarked, that the hon. member for Wales of whom he spoke
testified to the Bishop of Llandaff 's accurate knowledge of Welsh.
Mr. Hume gave credit to the noble lord at the head of the govemment
for having made that selection.
Mr. W1LLIA.MS remarked that the hon. member to whom the Secretary
for the Home Deparment referred did not understand a word of the language ;
but only one feeling of gratitude to the noble lord prevailed in North and
South Wales for tsiing a step in the right direction.
The clause was agreed to, as were also the remaining clauses, and several
additional clauses.
An additional clause was proposed, requunng that deans should not
hold a living which was not in the cathedral city, or distant more than
three miles from the cathedral city.
CONVERSIONS.
" Miss Peel of Lariggan, within the new district of St. Peter's, Newlyn,
near Penzance, a sister of Sir Lawrence Peel, Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court of Calcutta, and first cousin of the late Sir Robert, has just seceded,
after, as she states, six years deliberation, to the Roman Church ; into which,
it is presumed, that she will be publicly received at the Catholic Chapel,
recently erected at Penzance, to-morrow (Sunday, the 14th) by the Bishop of
Marseilles. — Standard,
The Rev. Edward Ballard, M.A., of Wadham College, Oxford, has been
recently received into the Catholic Church by the Rev. R. G. M'MuUen, at
Bermondsey. Mr. George F. Ballard, of Worcester College, Oxford, was
received into the Catholic Church by the Rev. F. Oakeley, at St. John's,
Islington, on Sunday last. The Rev. Charles B. Garside, M.A., Curate of
Margaret-street Chapel, London, and formerly scholar of Brazennose College,
Oxford, was received into the Church on the Feast of St. Aloysius, by the
Rev. Dr. P. Melia, at the Catholic Chapel of all Souls, St. Leonard's-on-Sea.
Also at the same place, on the 6th inst, by the Right Rev. ])r. Wiseman,
the Hon. and Rev. Charles Cavendish, Rector of Little Casterton, Rutland,
and the Hon. Captain Charles Pakenham, of the Grenadier Guards.
Among the late conversions to the Roman Catholic Church, are the Rev.
C. B. Garside, Rev. Mr. Budley, late curate at Archbishop Tennison's
chapel, London; the Rev. W. Maskell's son, Mrs. Allies, wife of the Rev*
T. Allies, of Saonton, and Mrs. Fo]|jambe.— O^efori Herald.
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 65
On the 30tb ult.. Miss Kate M. Warreoj dauf^hter of James Warren, Ksq.,
of Kersery, Suffolk, was received into the Catholic Church bj the Rev.
Edward Hearn, at the Convent of the Sisters of Mercv, Queen's-square.
Mrs. Wilberforce, daughter of the late Rev. John Owen, of Fulham, and
wife of the eldest brother of the Bishop of Oxford^ has been received into
the Church.
The Rev. W. Maskell, late Examining Chaplain to the Bishop of Exeter,
whose letters, acknowledging that the party of Mr Gorham had the best of
it in the late controversy as to what is the doctrine of the Church of
England, have attracted so much attention, was on Saturday last received
into the Church at the chapel in Spanish-place.
MISCELLANEOUS.
The Rumoured Cardinalatx. — ^We beg leave to state, in answer to
numerous queries on this subject, that nothing certain is known either about
the promotion of Dr. Wiseman or the arrangement of the hierarchy.
Rumour has already given the Archbishopric of Westminster to Dr.
UUathome and Dr. Briggs. We think, however, the vacant See will be
filled by our illustrious I^elate, who, most probably, will return from Italy
with the learned Rector of the English Roman College as his Coadjutor
Bishop on this side of the water. Every hour of Dr. Wiseman's life is of
eminent service to the Catholic cause in England, and we hope that his
Holiness or the Venerable Consistory will not take any step which may
cause his removal from our shores. The learned and Right Reverend Prelate
has been out of town for some days past, but will return to celebrate Mass
at the French Chapel, and to administer Communion to the young Count de
Paris, in presence of the Count and Countess de Neuilly, and other members
of the exiled court. — Standard.
The Hon. and Rev. George Talbot has been suomioned to Rome, on the
express invitation of his Holiness, with the purpose of his appointment to a
?lace of high trust and dignity (not unaccompanied with emolument) that of
!hamberlain near the person of the Pope, an office which has been known
to lead to the highest point of exaltation, and really worthy to be filled by
the most distinguished. The reverend gentleman left London for Rome on
Sunday last, and will not tarry by the way. — Tablet,
Dr. Wiseman will have left England for Rome probably before this reaches
the eye of our readers. — [Ed. Cath. Mag.]
The Catholic schools at Butler-street, Hoxton, are to have an excursion to-
morrow to Erith and its pleasant neighbourhood, under the eye of the Rev.
, of Moorfields, and others of the Clergy. The Catholic middle
schools, in John- street, Bedford-row, have enjoyed an excursion and under-
gone an examination by the Rev. A. G. Macroullen. who was exceedingly
gratified with the result, which did very great credit to the masters — Mr.
Stewart and Mr. Grundy ; and on the following day the Earl of Arundel and
Surrey, the president, presented the prizes in the presence of the patrons of
the schools and the parents of the children. The school flourishes, has its
sixty-six scholars, and almost pays its own expenses. May it continue to
prosper — {Floreat Semper)— a,6 a valuable Catholic institution, affording the
means of securing a Catholically-conducted classical education to the sons
of the middle classes.
The Rev. J. Butt, late Secretarv to the Lord Bishop, has been appointed
to supply the place of the Rev. John Kyne at Lincoln's-Inn-Fields.
Thk Gorham Controversy. — ^Thk Bishop of Exeter's Protest
TO THE Arches Court. — " In the name of the Holy Trinity, Amen. —
We, Henry, by Divine permission Bishop of Exeter, having been monished
VOL. XII. F
Digitized by
Google
66 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
by this venerable Court of Arches to bring into the rejfistry of the same the
presentation made to us by her Msjesty Queen Victoria, as patron of the
vicarage of Bramford Speke, in our said diocese, commanding? us to institute
the Rev. G. C. Gorham, — do hereby, in obedience to the monition of this
court, bring into the registry of the same the said presentation —
" Under protest, that'' (Mr. Gorham holds heretical doctrines).
" Now we, the said Henry, Bishop of Exeter, taking the premises into our
serious and anxious consiaeration, and furthermore, considering that the
judgment of her Most Gracious Majesty in Council on the said appeal was
pronounced solely in reliance on the statement made in the report and
recommendation of the said Judicial Committee, as being a just, true, and
sufficient statement, do, by virtue of the aiithority given to us by God, as
a bishop in the Church of Christ, and in the apostolic branch of it planted
by God's providence within this land, and established ^herein by the l^ws
and constitution of this realm, hereby solemnly repudiate the said judgmeut^
and declare it to be null and utterly without effect in foro coMcientia, and
do anneal therefrom in all that concerns the Catholic faith to 'the Sacred
Synod of this nation, when it shall be in the name of Christ assembled, as
the true Church of England, by representation.'
''And further, we do solemnly protest and declare, that whereas the said
George Cornelius Gorham did manifestly and notoriously hold the aforesaid
heretical doctrines, and hath not since retracted and disclaimed the same,
any archbishop or bishop, or any of&cial of any archbishop or bishop, who
shall institute the said George Cornelius Gorham to the cure and govern-
ment of the souls of the parishioners of the said parish of Bramford Speke«
within our diocese aforesaid, will thereby incur the sin of supporting and
favouring the said heretical doctrines, and we do hereby renounce and
repudiate all communion with any one, be he whom he may, who shall so
institute the said George Cornelias Gorham as aforesaid.
"Given under our hand and episcopal seal, this 20th day of July, in the
year of our Lord 1850. " H. EXETER."
Great Mbbtino of Anglican Clergy and Laity. — This meeting
first announced for the 27th of June, was held on the 23rd of July. It was
attended by one bishop (of Bath and Wells), several minor church dignitaries^
and about 2,000 of the laity. The foUowing protests, petitions, &:c., were
agreed to unanimously : —
Protest. — ^Whereas, upon an appeal by the Rev. George Cornelius
Gorham against the sentence of the Dean of the Arches Court of Canterbury,
it has been declared by the Judicial Committee of her Majesty's Privy
Council, in contradiction to the judgment of the Ecclesiastical Court, "that
the doctrine held by Mr. Gorham is not contrary or repugnant to the
declared doctrine of the Church of England ; '* and further, *' that Mr. Gorham
ought not to have been refused institution to the vicarage of Bramford
Speke:"—
"And whereas the Rev. G. C. Gorham, being presented to the vicarage of
Bramford Speke, has declared and published (certain doctrines on the effi-*
cacy of baptism^ which are recited at length with those of the Church.)
" Now, we, the undersigned, members of the Church of England, accepting
irithout reserve these distinct declarations of her doctrine (denying also tba^
her deliberate and unambiguous expressions in the actual ministration of
the sacrament of baptism are to be taken in a (qualified or uncertain sense),
and holding that original sin is remitted to all infants bv spiritual regenera-
tion, through the application of the merits of our Lora and Saviour Jes»s
Christ in and by the sacrament of baptism, which doctrine we, together witj^r
the whole, church, individually affirm whenever in the recifal of the Nic^ne
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCB. 67
Creed we *'aekiiowledg« one iMiptisiii for the remiMion of sIbs/' do hereby
solemnly repudiate and protest a^inst the said judgment of the Judicial
Committee of her Majesty's Privy Council ; and do appeal therefrom unto a
free and lawful synod of the Church of England, when such synod may be
had;
Because — While the Judicial Committee exclude from their abstract of
Mr. Gorham's doctrine (on which abstract alone they decide) all notice of the
specific errors asserted by him in the aforecited passages — their judgment
sanctions' the acceptance in an hypothetical and unreid sense of the plain
declarations of the Church — suggests contradictory interpretations of her
doctrines, and requires institution to a benefice with cure of souls of a priest
who professes doctrines utterly inconsistent with the sacritmental character
of baptism, and subversive of a fundamental article of faith ;
And because — ^Through this decision touching doctrines of the church, the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council do (notwithstanding their formal
disclaimer of **any authority to settle matters of faith'') practically exercise
ia spiritual matters a jurisdiction for which they are utterly incompetent,
and which never has been, nor ever oan be, confided to them by tha
church."
''to the queen's most excellent majesty.
'* The humble Petition of the undersigned Clergy and Laitv of the Church
of England,
" Showeth,
" That we, your Majesty's faithful and loyal subjects, dutifully acknow-
ledging your royal authority as supreme governor witWn tfiese your
dominions, in all causes, over all persons, as the same is expressed in th«
Articles of the Church of England, humbly entreat your Majesty to grant u^
redress in a matter which aggrieves our consciences as member^, and soqae
of us ministers, of the same church.
''That in the cause of Gorham v- the Bishop of Exeter, lately decided by
the Judicial Committee of your Majesty's Privy Council, a very grav? point
of doctrine, touching the foundation of the faith, has been treated in such %
manner as, incidentally but effectually, to contradict the plain am) obvioua
meaning of the Prayer-book.
"That, in consequence of this decision (whatever be its legal validity),
great scandals have arisen, and very many are unsettled and disturbed in
conscience, whose only wish is to serve God in peace in the portion of the
church wherein they have been called.
'* That it has always been allowed by the law of this country, as well as by
the custom of the whole church from the earliest ages, that religious ({ues-
tions of faith and discipline should be settled, according to scriptur^
precedent, by synodical assemblies of the bishops and clergy.
" That Magn9 Ch^a begins bv declfiring ' That the Church of England
^9 free, and shall have %ll h^r rights entire, and h^r liberties inviolate ;' and
amongst these it was secured by an ancienj; law of tbia r^altn thul Ahe should
• have her judgments free.'
"That, in the declaration of your Majesty'sroyal predecessor. King Charles I.,
prefixed to the Articles of the Church, her synodical functions are recognised
in the promise — * That, out of our princely care, that the churchmen may do
the work which is proper unto them, the bishops and clergy, from time to
time in convocation, upon their humble desire, shall have hcense under our
broad seal to deliberate of and to do aU auch things, as being made plain by
them, and assented unto by us, shall concern the settled continuance of the
doctrine and discipline of the Church of England now established : from
which we will not endure any varying or departing in the least degree.'
Digitized by
Google
68 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
" To the intent, therefore, that the grievance aforesaid may be remedied,
and the church herself ex^oj full freedom to exercise her inherent and in-
alienable office of declaring and judging in all matters purely spiritual^ to the
welfare of your Majesty, and the peace of these realms.
"Your petitioners humbly implore your Majesty — ^That all questions
touching the doctrine of the Church of England, arising on appeal, or in your
Majesty's temporal courts^ may herealter be referred to the spirituality of
the Church of England.
"And, further, that your Majestjf will be pleased to remove the impedi-
ments which now obstruct the exercise of the ancient synodical functions of
the church, in order to the determination of the aforesaid question of doctrine,
as well as of other matters affecting her welfare, to the salvation of souls,
and the glory of her Divine Head.
"And your petitioners will ever pray, &o."
An address was then voted to the Archbuhops of Canterbury and York
requesting them to support the wishes of the meeting by their influence, and
one to the Scotch bbhops thanking them for their sympathy, and the meeting
quietly evaporated — like a respectable flash in the pan.
BIRTHS.
On the . 17th of July, at 18, Curzon-street, Mayfidr, the Lady
Beaumont, of a son.
MARRIAGES.
On the 12th of June, at Palermo, the Marquis Giuseppe Pasqualimo,
of Palermo, to Mary, eldest daughter of the late W. J. Charlton, Esq., of
Hesleyside, Northumberland.
On the 16th inst., at St. Werbergh's Catholic Chapel, Chester, by the
Right Rev. Dr. Briggs, Bishop of Trachis and Vicar Apostolic of the York-
shire District, William, eldest son of Peter Nicholson, Esq., of Thirlwall
Hall, Cheshire, to Constance Ferrers, second daughter of George
Pickering, Esq., of Chester, and granddaughter of the late Edward Ferrers,
Esq., of Baddesley-Clinton Hall, Warwickshire.
On the 20th of July, at the Sardinian Chapel, by the Rev. Dr. Melia,
Signor Carlo Maoliano, of Turin, to Mary Eliza, elder daughter of
the late Thomas Williams, Esq., of Trinity-square, Southwark.
DEATHS.
On the 3rd of July, at his residence, Mansfield-street, William Henbt
Francis, Lord Petre.
On the 16th of July, at his residence, Maddoz-street, Mr. Damamt.
On the 17th inst., at Bermondsey, aged 88, Thomas Butler, Esq.,
fotfaer of the late Rev, Peter Butler.
Digitized by
Google
THE CATHOLIC
MAGAZINE AND REGISTER.
No. LXVII. September, 1860. Vol. XII.
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
The Right Rev. Peter Augcjstine Baines, Bishop of
SiGA, Vicar Apostolic in the Western District op
England, &c.
(Continued from page 42.)
As, at this time, I often visited Bath, I had frequent opportu-
nities of meeting Dr. Baines ; and long and intimate and de-
lightful were the conferences we held. But I grieved to find
him always more and more annoyed by the hostility that was
being organized against him for many causes, and which was in-
creased by the stand which he felt himself called upon to make
against the proceedings of those who thought that England was
about to be reconverted to Catholic unity, and who would have
promoted this object by changing our modes of worship, and
almost our habits of every day life, fox a system which they
fancied to have existed eight or ten centuries ago ; and whicn
they thought would be more attractive to converts.
" 1 lately received a letter from one of these gentlemen — one
of their leaders"- — said Dr. Baines to me : " it' was dated not on
the day of the month, as popes, cardinals, and all of Christendom
of which 1 know anything date letteis ; but with the name of the
saint whose festival it happened to be written on. Well this saint,
I doubt not, was a true and blessed saint : but was not one of
such eminence that I remembered on what day of the month his
festival was kept ; and I was annoyed at having to go to book to
find out. However ; while so employed, I remembered that I
had a little old' botanical book that distinguished every day in
the year by the name of some plant that blossomed upon it.
I hunted out this little monkish volume ; and, when I answered
the letter of my reverend correspondent, I dated mine * Prior
Parky Marsh-Mallows blossom.^ I did not anticipate so angry
a remonstrance as that which followed in the tone with which
VOL. XII. G
Digitized by
Google
70 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
the gentleman wrote to ask me the meaning of my singular date.
With the greatest urbanity, I replied to him that, from his having
dated his letter to me with the name of a Saint instead of the
day of the month, I presumed that the old system was abolished,
and that each one was at liberty to adopt another : that I thought
it a pretty idea to designate each day by the flowering of some
plant then in season ; and that after recurring to my breviary to
find what day his Saint's festival stood for, I had looked into
my little herbal book to see what flower was in bloom ; and had
found that, on that day, ' Marsh-Mallows blossomed/ and had
dated my letter accordingly."
Sarcasm was not, however, the means by which to conci-
liate those whose enthusiasm suggested a plan^ pious and
innocent in itself, but certainly most inconvenient.
By the movement party to which Dr. Baines opposed himself,
Gothic was deemed the national ecclesiastical architecture of
England, and, consequently, the only style in which our churches
ought to be built. His love of Italy and Italian architecture
with many other motives (amongst which the principal one was
his belief that, in our present condition, the greatest space
ought to be secured at the least possible expense) disinclined
Dr. Baines to adopt this fancy. He strongly objected to any-
thing which might seem to nationalize Catholicism in England
as distinct from that of the rest of the world : and when, in the
Midland District, the shape of the sacred vestments was altered
to some pattern of a Mediaeval date, I think^ though he did not
avow it, but I think, from the twinkle of his eye as he related
the anecdote, that it was his Lordship himself who had sent to
Rome a boxfiill of dolls dressed up in chasuble and other vest-
ments cut in the new fashion. The innovation was, in conse-
quence, forbidden.
All these matters occasioned a long and harrassing correspon-
dence : and I seldom was at Prior Park without being consulted
on some lengthy letter he was writing in Latin or Italian to
Propaganda or to the Pope on the affairs of his district, or the
position of Catholicism in England. Many documents, also,
for which he w;as held responsible at head quarters, were the
joint remonstrances of the Vicars Apostolic, and were only
signed first by him as senior bishop.
At this time, I received from his Lordship the following note
— dated, by the bye, on the * Marsh-Mallows' plan to which he
had himself objected :
** Prior Parky Holy Saturday^ 1840.
" My dear Mr. '- — ^
^^ I am quite enough alive to thank you for your kind note
of the 3rd instant, but not enough so to apologize for my long
Digitized by
Google
BECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 71
seglect in acknowledging the receipt of for which
accept a late but most grateful expression of thanks.
" I sing the Mass to-morrow, and then I shall have finished
the labours of this holy time — of which I wish you and
Mrs. and all yours many happy returns,
" I wish you had been here during the Holy Week. The
ceremonies have been really effectively and impressively per-
formed : and what, when so performed, does this world supply
so sublime and beautiful ?
" Your approbation of niy Pastoral consoles me. What
would you think of a pious family abandoning their ordinary
confessor and going to another because, one of the family being
a convert, it was taken for granted that he was aimed at (which
he was not) and the said confessor had had the presumption to
read the Pastpral in the Chapel, as ordered by his Bishop !
Is not this a curious comment on the Mores Catholici t
Mr. Digby is not, I beJieve, the person alluded to.
" Ever truly yours,
+ «P. A. Baines.'*
In this note, is the first reference to the Pastoral which had
been delivered at the beginning of the Lent then conclu-
ding. I will say nothing of it now ; as we shall hereafter see
the Bishop's own account of it, and the consequeqces which it
drew upon him.
On the 18th May, I received the following note which only
hints how the plot had thickened : —
** My dear Mr.
I am going to on Wednesday, on my way to
Paris ; and as I find that the packet on Thursday sails at mid-
day, I should be able to spend a few hours with you if you
could receive me. The coach arrives in at about five
o'clock Wednesday evening ; and I could thus pass that evening
with you if I knew that you were at home, and you could inform
me how I could get to you. . If you write back by return of post,
I might get your letter on Wednesday morning before I leave
Bath ; but at all events, I will hope to find a line when I arrive.
" With kindest respects to the ladies, believe me,
" Dear Mr. ,
" Yours very truly,
^ " P. A. Baines.'V
Most delightful to me and, I think, not Unpleasant to hims^d^
were the three day6 which his Lordship speikt at my house with
jiis chaplain, Mr. Bonomi: That he was goi^ig *^ tk) Paris/' m
G 2
Digitized by
Google
72 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
he had told me by letter, was the tnith ; but it wd4 itot the
whole truth. He had been summoned to Rome. The intima-
tion that had been sent to him was as follows : —
No. 28.
" Illmo e Rmo Sige.
" AfTairi grayissiuii concementi la Beligione, che debbon
ora qui trattarsi richiedoiio, iudispensabilmente la presenza di
V. S. in Roma. Egli 6 percio che la im^egno a recaivisi con
ogni sollecitudine, dappoiche il di Lei anivo quanto piii pronto
tanto piu graio sara alia sagra Congregazione e alia persona
istessa del Santo Padre. £ senza piu dilungarmi, prego il
Signore che benignamente La conservi e La prosperi.
" Di V. S.
" Roma, DaJla Propaganda 14 Aprile 1840
" Come Fratello affmo
" J. F. Card. Fransoni, Prefc.
" Mgre. Pietro Agostino Baines
Vescovo di Siga, Vicario Apostolico
nel Distretto Occidentale d' Inghilterra.
Prior Park.
" J. Arc di Edessa, Segr."
The following is a literal translation of this curious docu-
ment : —
" Most Illustrious and Rev. Lord,
^' Most serious affairs concerning religion that have to be
treated of here, require indispensably the presence of your
Lordship in Rome. Therefore it is that I engage you to betake
yourself thither with all eagerness ; since the earlier your
arrival the more agreeable it will be to the holy congregation
and to the Holy Father himself. And without enlarging further,
I pray the Lord that he may kindly preserve and prosper you.
" Of your Lordship,
" Rome, from Propaganda, 14 April, 1840,
As a most affectionate Brother,
F. F. Cardinal Fransoni, Prefect,
J. Arch, of Edessa, Secretary."
Dr. Baines requested me to take an exact copy of this letter,
that I might make it known in England if need should be. He
was nervous and anxious. The style of the letter was some-
what unusual : its excessive friendliness, I thought suspicious :
he knew not with what object he was sent for ; nor how he
might be treated or detained if once in Rome. It might be
necessary to appeal to the English Catholic public or even to
the government : and he left it to me to act in his defence as
circumstances might require. He knew of no matter ^^ con-
ceiiung religion" then under discussion at Rome that could
Digitized by
Google
BECOLLEOTIONS OF EMINENT MEN, 78
require his presence : the only subject on which he thought
there could be a question, was the sub-division of the Episcopal
districts in England, and the appointment of more Vicars
Apostolic : this he had himself strongly recommended, and also
that the London District should be divided by the Thames —
London being, he considered, too large to be under the care of
one bishop : — in fact, Dr. Baines told to me afterwards that he
had startled the Pope by telling him tliat there were more
Catholics in London than in Rome. His Lordship judged,
however, that this matter could not have occasioned his call to
Home : — in fact, the sub-division of the districts, though not in
the manner he bad recommended, was proclaimed shortly after-
wards while he was on his journey, and without reference to him.
The Pastoral, he rightly judged, was at the bottom of the
whole business. How curious, during these three days, were
his revelations respecting his own position in reference to
other ecclesiastical interests in England and at Rome ! How
eaniestly he canvassed the prospects of Catholicity in England !
Into these details, I would not willingly enter. They are not
essential to the vindication of my Right Rev. friend.
On the second day of his visit, I took him to see a ruined
monastery in my neighbourhood. The eagerness with which he
ran from one part of the building to another, and the familiarity
with which he assigned to each one its appropriate original
use was as amusing as it was instinctive.
The person who had compiled the Prayer-book, before
mentioned, met him at my house : and together we looked over
it and considered the remarks which the Bishop had before
noted in pencil. I was surprised at the delight with which his
Lordship repeated the hymns of the Church, which long custom
seemed to have more endeared to him, and at the interest and
minuteness with which he compared those translations of them
with the originals. He seemed to have marked every expres-
sion and to weigh the rhythm with the feeling of a poet. I
hope I shall not scandalize any one by recording that, when he
came to the Vesper hymn, " Iste Confessor," and read the
translation, he exclaimed: "Is that right? Is that the proper
meter ?
Iste Confessor Domini colentes.
It is the meter of Canning's Needy knife-grinder :'*
* This great confessor, God's most worthy servant,' —
* I give thee sixpence ? I will see thee damn'd first !*
" All right !'* he added, laughing at the test he had adduced.
Digitized by
Google
74 .RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT IKEN.
Before T parted with him on board the steam-packet that was
to take his Lordship to France, I strongly advised him to study
Italian as much as possible during his journey. He was, indeed,
a good Italian scholar ; but with disuse, the tongue becomes
rusty ; and I foresaw how important it might be that he should
be able to express himself at Rome with facility and fluency.
He promised me that he would not forget my counsel.
Three months afterwards, I received from him the following
letter : —
" Palazzo Mignanelli Piazza di Spagnay
" Bome^ August 16, 1840.
" My dear Mr. ,
^^ I will not lose time and space in apologizing for not
writing to you sooner. I know you could not have wished me
to write, if you had known how I have been occupied with
business, or prevented by hot weather and weak health. You
have heard all, I trust, from Dr. Brindle. I was sent for about
my Pastoral ! I can discover no other cause. The authorities
at Propaganda received me civilly but coolly, and for three weeks
would say nothing. The Pope received me coldly at first, and
read myself and my brother bishops (Dr. Walsh excepted) a
severe lesson in a true Papal style ; quiet, dignified, well
expressed, and cutting to the quick. I kept very composed all
the time, and had my answer ready when his Holiness had
finished. It was as quiet as his own, and, I hope, not less
dignified. It admitted no fault nor sued for any grace. It
asserted our good intentions, and complained of the misrepre-
sentations that had been artfully carried to the Holy See, and it
then ventured to assert that we were the injured party to whom,
if justice had been done, favour, not reproof, should have been
awarded, &c. His Holiness declared himself ^ contentissimo
con Monsigr. Baines,' to Dr. Wiseman, a few days after.
" My next interview proved the fact. Nothing could be so
kind as his Holiness. As if to make me amends for my scold-
ing, he invited me to his country seat, whither I went, and was
most graciously received. During the two days of my stay I
had audiences of many hours ; or rather I was so long in his
Holiness's company, no other person being present, all ceremony
being laid aside, and all subjects of conversation being treated
as they happened to arise. It was interesting to see how
different a thing sovereignty is in different hands. In those of
Gregory XVI. it is a mere office, that has its duties, the
performance of which makes no alteration in the performer.
His manners are the same, his table not better ; his bed the
same, viz., a straw paillasse, without a mattress and \tithout
curtains, in a little room with one window. I spoke to him
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 7^
about his cell and straw bed. He said he liked it better, that
he never cared bow hard his bed was, and that he had slept
very well on a table. At the same time, he feels strongly the
importance of the position he holds in the world ; and his mind
rises to the level of it without losing a whit of its native sim-
plicity and humility. He is very clever — a clever reasoner, an
acute observer, and an excellent speaker. His language is
singularly accurate, clear and forcible. His reading on most
subjects is* considerable, on some very extensive — particularly on
those conDected with ecclesiastical matters, and he has a
memory for quotation such as I have seldom met with. I need
not add that I was delighted with my visit. I was dismissed
with the most flattering assurances of regard, and invited to see
his Holiness again on his return to Rome. His Holiness is in
perfect health, though he has had some slight touches of fever,
which he assured me never lasted more than a very few hours,
gave him little inconvenience, and left him better than before.
^^ He came to Rome for the Feast of the Assumption, and the
pleasure he evidently felt at meeting his subjects again, after
bis absence in the country, seemed mutual. He was enthusias-
tically received. I stood beside him all the time of the High
Mass, and at the Benediction given from the portico of Sta
Maria Maggiori, but I avoided putting myself in his way, as he
was so much beset, and as I purpose having the honour of
seeing him again soon at Gastel Gandolfo, whither I returned
on Sunday afternoon.
" As to the Pastoral, it was a mere trick of a certain party to
get rid of me ! But they were soon detected, and their dis-
honesty has recoiled on their own heads. On every account I
have reason to feel grateful that I was called hither. I have
removed much delusion respecting our affairs, and I hope to
remove still more. Dr. Weedall is on a visit with me. He
came to get rid of the mitre, which a certain party had deter-
mined to force upon his head. The Pope gave his assent the
moment I stated to him the nature of Dr. WeedalFs objections,
so that the latter can be off, unless he should allow himself to
be ensnared, which I think he will not. I hardly know when I
can get away from Rome, — I think, perhaps, in a month. My
health has not suffered from the heat, though the latter has been
troublesome. I spent some days at Frascati on a visit with Mr,
and Mrs. Englefield, and am going again at their kind and
friendly invitation. Pray present my kindest and most respectfol
regards to the ladies, and best blessing to your litde ones, and
believe me, dear Mr. , yours very truly, &c.,
^ " P. A. Baines.
" P.S.— I should receive your letter if you should be charitably
Digitized by
Google
76 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT BCEN.
disposed to write one. I hope I must have left a book or two
and some papers with you. If not, I fear I have lost them ; one
is the letter from Propaganda you copied."
Dr. Baines afterwards told me that one of these interviews
with his Holiness being appointed to take place after Mass in
the Pope's chapel, he had attended the service, and that the
celebrated Padre Ventura had preached : that during the sermon,,
he had inculcated amenity and kindness in the great towards
their inferiors, and had insisted that sovereigns should make
themselves more accessible to those who had complaints to
proffer. " But," continued the preacher, " but you will tell me
that, if he listens to all complaints, no hall in the Vatican will
be large enough to contain them ; that St. Peter's itself will not
hold the crowd of applicants ; that he will have to move his
throne in the centre of the wide Campagna E perche nt) —
and why not ?" the preacher had abruptly exclaimed. How-
ever: after the service. Dr. Baines had been immediately
admitted to the audience as appointed ; and he told me that, in
lieu of other greeting, as he entered, the Pope had looked at
him with a sort of a cunning smile, and had whispeied, " Che
dice della predica" — " What do you say to the sermon ?" and
had then seated himself to enter on the business of the interview.
The following letter, written after his Lordship's return to
England, appeared to me less constrained than the preceding
cue, which had to pass through the Roman post-office : —
" Prior Park, May 26, 1841.
" My dear Mr. ,
" I have reproached myself daily for not writing to you ;
for to say the truth, I do not recollect when I wrote last. I am
not even sure that I answered your kind letter sent to Rome. Had
you been a person I loved less or feared more, you would have
been better treated. But taking it for granted that you would
forgive every thing, but a change of feeling on my part, (which
I take for granted you know to be impossible), I have always
omitted writing to you, whilst I wrote to others whom I feared
more, but cared for infinitely less.
"A thousand thanks for the new contribution. That the
Prayer-book in which you interest yourself should sell, in spite
of my name being attached to it, I consider a proof that there
is still soundness in the Catholic body, and that all have not bid
adieu to common sense and good taste even in religion. The
last edition is very pretty. By the bye, I suppose I forgot to
mention that, properly speaking, the Litany of the Saints should
stand immediately after the Penitential Psalms, to which, rather
than to the Litany, the antiphon, * Remember not,' belongs.
This Litany forms a part of the canonical office of the Church,
Digitized by
Google
KECOLtECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 77
And therefore ought to take precedence of all others. That of
Loretto is approved by the Church by general use. That of
Jesns has had no approbation, that I know of, except what the
grant of Indulgences annexed to its recitation may imply — and
this is a mere negative approval. But all I care about is the put-
ting of the Litany of the Saints immediately after the Penitential
Psalms. I will ascertain from Dr. Briggs whether his not
answering the author's letter arose from any thing but inattention
or want of time. I suspect not. Though, as he is the author
of the best edition of the Garden of the Soul, there may be
some jalousie de metier at the bottom. I think not : for his
Lordship has a great mind.
^'My business in Rome caused me great pain and great
delight. It was deeply mysterious. At my first interview with
the Pope I received a severe rebuke for my^eiiand my colleagues
the other VV,A, He then declared himself fiflly satisjied^
f con tent issimo di Monsigr, Baines^J and for months treated me
with kindness unexampled. Then he became again severe, and
my enemies sung victory, and all appeared lost. Then on a
sudden all was changed once more, and the kindness and
affection of the Pope was something which I never before wit-
nessed nor can fully explain. But the beauty of the thing was
that his Holiness declared that he saw the necessity of support-
ing the bishops ; that he declared that there was nothing in my
Pastoral to retract, that he voluntarily paid the expenses of n)y
journey, — invited me to write to him, and loaded me with every
kind of favour. It was every where felt to be a complete
triumph, and the faction was mortified and is so still in the
highest degree. The bishops have already experienced a
change of treatment, which 1 feel confident will last for some
time, I hope for ever.
" I am about to put forth, when I can find time, some publio
explanations, in order to check the mischievous reports which
some busy friends of the faction are spreading amongst the
Catholics.
" Did I really carry off the key of a drawer ? If so, pray
get the lock picked and see what I have left. Present my kindest
regards to Mrs. ; sincere condolence in her sufferings to
her relative, and best blessings to all your family, and believe
me ever, dear Mr. , most truly and sincerely yours,
+ "P. A. Baines.
" P.S. — If when you come this way yon could bring the lock,
of which I carried away the key, perhaps I might find and
restore it."
An extract from another letter, written in October of the same
year, will be interesting : —
Digitized by
Google
78 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
'^ The Prayer-book is beautiful and must now proceed
and prosper. Thank God this will be some little check to
fanaticism.
" I cannot make out whether you have read my * History of
the Pastoral,' an unpublished though printed work. If you have
not, let me send you a copy. I expect a new storm, if the
spirits of wickedness can raise it.
" The * Tablet' is becoming magnificent. I am sure you liked
the article Gullibility^ as well as several of his late leading
articles.
'^ A correspondent from another district tells me that a
Puseyite parson of the name of , is now at Oscott, and
means to go to the Cistercian Monastery, at Leicester, to become
a Catholic and take holy orders ! He is the author of .
This one, report has magnified in 40 !
^^ I am not very well, but quite as much so as on most years
at this time. I wish you could stay vnth me awhile when you
come hitherwise.
" Our numbers are increased this year, and all goes on well
at Prior Park."
The *' History of the Pastoral" was sent to me by his Lord-
ship. Whatever interest of a personal nature it may have
possessed at the time, it can now be only considered as a curious
historical document, exhibiting the state of religion in this
country a dozen years ago. I would, on no account, contravene
the wish expressed by the Right Reverend author in his preface,
and make " a contentious use" of his narrative : but time has
made this impossible : and without misgiving, therefore, I pro-
ceed to quote : —
" A History of the Pastoral, addressed to the Faith-
ful OF the Western District, on occasion op the Fast
of Lent, 1840. By P. A. Baines, D.D., Bishop of Siga.
V.A.W. NOT PUBLISHED.
" To THE Reader. — My object in putting the following narra-
tive into print, is simply to prevent the evils likely to result from
certain mistatements, which, in the absence of authentic
information, are secretly making their round amongst the
Catholics of England. In the discharge of what I consider a
duty, I had the misfortune to incur the displeasure of a respect-
able party in the Catholic body, whose cause was warmly
espoused by another vpry powerfiil party, to whom I was
previously obnoxious. For motives of which I am ignorant,
and which, therefore, I have no right to judge, a design was
formed to embroil me with the Holy See, and, 1 have reason to
believe, to inflict upon me serious injury. As there is not an
individual, whom, in vniting my Pastoral, I wished to injure or
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 79
offend, so is there not, if I know mj own heart, an individual,
who has entered into this crusade against me, towards whom I
bear the slightest resentment, or to whom I would willingly give
the smallest unnecessary pain. Were I a private individual, I
would leave my adversaries to spread, respecting me, whatever
reports were most agreeable to themselves. As a Buhop^ I am
bound to defend my character and conduct as well as I can,
because with these are, in some measure, bound up the credit
of religion itself. Such being my object in printing a few
copies of the following narrative, let me entreat you, my Right
Reverend Brethren in Jesus Christ, for whose use I principally
design it, and you, my Catholic friends, whoever you may be,
into whose hands a copy may chance to fall, to employ it only
for the purpose of edification and peace. There is no adversary
upon whom I wish to be revenged, no enemy, personal or
professional, whom I do not sincerely forgive. Accustomed for
many years past to this species of persecution, I have acquired
a habit (and I thank God for it) of bearing no resentment to my
persecutors, any one of whom I feel I could, if permitted,
cordially embrace as a friend and brother.
" I should the more deeply regret any contentious use being
made of this narrative, inasmuch as I know it would give great
pain to the Venerable Head of the Church, for whom I have
long had cause to entertain a strong filial affection, and to whom,
for his most amiable condescension, penetrating sagacity and
vigorous interposition in this affair, I must ever owe a debt of
the most lively gratitude.
"A History, &c. — The Pastoral, which furnishes the subject
of this narrative, was published at the beginning of the Lent
1840, and sent to all the Missionaries of the Western District.
Copies were also sent to all the Bishops of England, Ireland,
and Scotland.
" In the beginning of May the same year, I received an
official letter from Propaganda, signed by the Most Eminent
Cardinal Fransoni, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation, and by
the Most Reverend Monsignor Cadolini, Secretary of the same,
informing me that ^affairs of the highest importance, which were
then under consideration at Rome, required indispensably my
presence in that capital, and that the sooner I could present
myself there, the greater gratification I should afford to the
Sacred Congregation, and to his Holiness himself.'
"In obedience to this summons, I hastily arranged the affairs
of my District and Colleges in the best way I could, and, on the
19th day of the same month, was on my way to Rome, where I
arrived on the 9th of June.
" On the following day I presented myself successively to the
Most Reverend Secretary and the Most Eminent Prefect of
Digitized by
Google
80 BECOtLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
Propaganda, bat without receiving from either the slightest hint
why I had been sent for. I then applied for an audience of his
Holiness, which was granted me on the following Tuesday, the
16th of June. His Holiness received me in a way which
manifested great displeasure againsttbeEnglish Vicars Apostolic,
whom he had evidently been led to consider as wanting in
devotion to the Holy See, and almost as factiously disposed.
He spoke severely of certain letters that had been addressed to
himself or Propaganda, by the said Vicars Apostolic, particularly
of some which I had written, or of which I was supposed to be
the principal instigator.
" In reply, I expressed my deep regret that we should have
had the misfortune to incur his Holiness^s displeasure, but
assured falaa, that I had never heard a word from any of my
colleagues which could justify me in doubting their sincere
devotion and attachment to the Holy See. With regard to
myself, as I had always entertained for his Holiness's elevated
office the most profound veneration and respect, and for his
sacred person the most respectful and filial affection, I could
confidently assert, that if any letters or acts of mine had been
understood to convey any thing contrary to these feelings, they
had been misinterpreted. With these assurances his Holiness
seemed satisfied ; and I had the happiness to hear from a Prelate,
who saw him a few days later, that he had so expressed himself
in my regard. Indeed, from that time, not only had I the
happiness of receiving from him the same tokens of regard I had
formerly enjoyed, but other such unusual marks of attention, as
to convince me that he was fully persuaded of the truth of my
statements.
" In the meantime, though I frequently applied at Propaganda,
to know for what particular reason I had been called to Rome,
I did not receive the infonnation till the 2nd of July, when the
Cardinal Prefect and Most Reverend Secretary read to me
certain charges which had been made against my Pastoral, and
which I was called upon to answer. Of these charges I requested
a copy, which, after a few days, was sent to me. I at the same
time inquired, whether these charges were the only ones which
had been preferred against me, and whether, if I answered them
satisfactorily, I should be considered as acquitted. I was
answered distinctly in the affirmative.
" I here subjoin a copy of the Pastoral, with a translation of
the Charges in the margin, and the passages to which they refer
placed between crotchets [ ] .
'' The clauses in italics were underlined in the Italian trans-
lation of the Pastoral which accompanied the Charges.
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 61
"To ALL THE Faithful* Clergy and Laity of the
Western District. — ^See^ Brethren^ how you ttalk circum-
speclly : not as vnwise, but as wise: redeeming the time, because
the days are evil,'' — Eph. v. 1.5, 16.
"Sec 1. Dearly Beloved, — It was not without reason, nor
happily without effect, that the apostle cautioned his disciples
to walk circumspectly, for that they had fallen upon evil days.
In every sense of the word, both civilly and religiously, the days
in which the apostle wrote were truly evil. The Roman empire
had extended its sway over the greater part of the then known
world: that is, over all the southern countries of Europe, a
considerable part of Asia Minor, and the noithem coast of
Africa. The boasted liberties of the Roman commonwealth had
become to the mass of tlie people an empty name — a haughty
and grasping aristocracy having, by the influence of enormous
wealth, gradually possessed themselves of all the powers of the
state. Under thu usual pretext of bettering the condition of the
people, but in reality to gratify their own jealousy and ambition,
contending factions involved the commonwealth in a sanguinary
revolution, till even the last semblance of political freedom
vanished in the establishment of an unshackled imperial des-
potism. Never, perhaps, did the world exhibit so melancholy
or revolting a spectacle. An immense military power arrayed
itself under the leaders of different factions, and deluged the
world with blood, whilst the public at large, upon whom the
expenses were levied in turns by each contending party, was
sunk in helpless poverty and irremediable distress.
" Such was the political state of the Roman empire during
the series of years when St. Paul addressed his epistles to his
different converts.
" The religious state of the empire was still more deplorable:
A splendid idolatry was the established religion of the state.
It was defended by a wealthy, gorgeous and jealous priesthood,
and deeply rooted in the pride, sensuality and other depraved
passions of the human heart. At first Christianity was treated
with that contempt, which its humble appearance, its compara-
tively small numbers, and the poverty of its preachers were
calculated to inspire. As, however, it began gradually to in-
crease, and, though quietly yet steadily, to extend its ramifica-
tions through every class of society, the pagan priesthood became
alarmed. They saw in the spread of a religion so pure, so holy,
so self-denying, imminent danger to a system like theirs, which
owed its favour to its impiety, imposition, and immorality.
They cried aloud that religion was in danger and the gods de-
spised. They called for vengeance on the impious wretches who
refused to sacrifice on the altars of their country, and who dared
tip set at defiance its tutelar deities. The obiect of the alarmists
Digitized by
Google
82 BECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT IfEN.
was to preTent the downfall of their lucrative impostare, and, as
is usual in such cases, they were not scrupulous about the meaus
employed for so laudable a purpose. The doctrines of the
Christians were assailed by the roost incredible and contradic-
tory calumnies. They were asserted to be every thing that was
absurd and ridiculous. At one time they were held up to
thoughtless derision on the public stage, at another to serious
execration in the writings of philosophers. Persecution was
not slow in obeying the excited feelings of a fanatical multi-
tude. The property of Christians was seized upon, without
even the forms of law, the apostles were doomed to death, and
their sainted successors condemned, like St. Clement, to work
as slaves in the public mines, or, like St. Marcellus, to feed the
horses in the imperial stables. Neither age nor sex escaped
the cruel alternative of denying Christ and sacrificing to demons,
or of renouncing all that was dear in life, and often life itself.
"Sec. 2. — [Nor was the state of the Christian Church itself one
of unmixed consolation. Its converts, though strong in faith,
were often lax in practice. They had renounced their religious
errors, but they had not always subdued their natural passions.
Vicious habits, which had become a second nature, often
triumphed over the power of grace, and called for the vigorous
exercise of those awful powers with which the apostles were in-
vested. (Cor. v.) The Jewish converts, ^^^' ^-^ loth to lay aside
their darling privilege of being the exclusive people of God,
felt a reluctance to allow the converted gentiles to be upon a
level with themselves, unless they consented to practice the
ceremonial law ; whilst the gentile converts in their turn re-
proached the Jews as the murderers of the Messiah. Some con-
verts of factious dispositions allied themselves to favourite
teachers, and refused to receive the apostles ; whilst some of
those teachers had no better motive for their preaching than to
give pain to their apostolic rivals. * Some^ says St. Paul, ^out
of contention preach Christ not sincerely^ supposing that they
raise afflictions to my bonds.^ (Phil i. 17.) Others, again, used
the Christian ministry as a trade, or, as St. Peter expressed it,
^through covetousnessy withfeigned tcords^ made merchandise of
the flock! (2 Peter xi. 3.)» whilst many, of .an enthusiastic turn
of mind, not satisfied vrith the frequent and undoubted exhibi-
tions of miraculous gifts and prophecies, were perpetually han-
'* Charges, No. 1. — Here begin the allusion to the new converts of
England.
" See how, from the very beginning, the converts are treated. Hence,
they fear that such treatment may prove an obstacle to the conversion of
others, and stagger the weak.''
Digitized by
Google
BECOLLECTIOKS OF EMINENT MEN. 83
kering after new ideal wonders, and listening, as St. Paal
expresses it, toxoid wives* fables^ '(I Tim. iv.) about the ap-
proaching end of the world, i^^-^)] &c.
["The wisest of men tells us, thsit^fhere is fiothing new
under the sun^ and least of all are * evil days,' novelties in this
our fallen state. We need not wonder, then, that we should
have been thrown upon times which greatly resemble those of
the apostles^ in the particulars above mentionedS^^-^^ We,
too, live under an empire which, for extent of dominion, if not
for exclusive possession of power, is scarcely inferior to that of
ancient Rome. Our empire, too, it is to be feai'ed, has attained
the zenith of its prosperity, and die usual symptoms of national
decay begin to exhibit themselves in the unparalleled wealth
and luxury of the few, and the almost unexampled poverty and
destitution of the many. Under such circumstances, it is not
to be wondered at, however much to be deplored, that open re-
sistance to authority should be attempted by men who either
themselves suffer, or who take advantage of the sufferings of
others. We have witnessed, beloved Brethren, with excessive
grief, the events that have recently taken place in one portion
of our extensive District,* and we have not ceased to pray that
God would give wisdom to our rulers to avert the evils that
threaten us. In the meantime, one subject has afforded us in-
expressible consolation. It is, that none of our beloved flock
have been involved in these rebellious proceedings. No; not a
single Catholic, thank God, we are assured, has risen up in re-
bellion against the lawfully constituted authorities. And yet,
my poor Children, many of you are far more distressed than
those who have been drawn into revolt. Exiles from your native
country, and unwelcome strangers in this, you have toiled to-
procure for yourselves and families the necessaries of life, and,
in many instances, you have forsaken your employments, and
subjected yourselves to the severest distress, rather than involve
yourselves in the gilt of rebellion. It is thus you have publicly
refuted the calumnies of those who traduce your religion, and
proved that you are not unacquainted with, the apostolic pre-
cepts, nor want the grace to practise them in time of trial. Such
precisely was the conduct of the early Christians. Their tem-
poral condition, was, in many respects, still worse than yoivs,
and their spiritual sufferings were infinitely greater. Yet the
** Charges. No. 2. — It woald seem that the author has not quite under-
stood in this place the meaning of the apostle.' — See 1 Tim. i. 4. iv. 7.
" No. 3. — See here the allusions better explained, so that there may be no
doubt about their meaning."
• South Wales.
Digitized by
Google
84 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
early Christians, though frequently doomed to shed their own
blood in testimony of the truth, were never found to shed the
blood of others, either in defence of their civil or religious rights.
They entered into no nice disquisitions about the quantum of
oppression which justifies resistance to authority, but adhered
literally and rigorously to the apostle^s advice : * Let every soul
be subject to the higher powerSyfor there is no power but from
God : therefore he that resisteth the poor resisteth the ordinance
of God : and they that resist purchase to themselves damnation.^
(Rom. xiii.) They had also before their eyes a striking proof
how resistance to authority only increases the evil it aims at re-
dressing, and that the poor are always the victims whom revo-
lution sacrifices on her ensanguined altar. They knew that
God, the supreme Ruler of the worid, can alone effectually re-
dress grievances resulting from national oppression, and that he
never fails to do so in his own good time.
" Do you, ray Beloved Children, continue to act upon these
wise and sublime principles. Never attempt to correct human
laws by violating the divine. Employ, as far as truth, justice,
and prudence permit, that powei'fiil moral agency which has
been so strinkingly developed in modern times, to procure the
redress of public grievances ; but never listen to those wicked
or deluded men, who would urge you to break the laws of your
country, and offend God, for any purpose whatsoever.
" I have mentioned the opposition made by the pagan priest-
hood to the progress of Christianity, for it affords a wholesome
lesson to us. It teaches us that we ought not to be surprised if
the same religion should, in our days, meet with similar treat-
ment from an adverse priesthood. God* forbid that I should be
understood as wishing to liken the priesthood of the established
religion of this country to the pagan priesthood of ancient
Rome. I allude to them only as exhibiting a similar hostility
to the Catholic religion, and as opposing it by similar means.
I intend not to convey an affront, whilst I assert a public and
notorious fact, that, whatever may be the characters of the clergy
to whom I allude, their daily abuse of the Catholic religion is
not less contemptuous, nor their misrepresentation of its tenets
less glaring, than were those of the ancient pagan priesthood.
The doctrines which we hold are by them so distorted as to be
no longer known whilst others which we hold not, but abhor,
are falsely and obstinately imputed to us. Our remonstrances
and disavowals are unheeded. * Like the deaf asp that stoppeth
her ears J and will not hear the voice of the charmer^ (Ps. Ivii.)
our traducers refuse to listen to our statements, and continue
to reassert the fables which it is thought to be their interest to
believe. Whilst we are thus held up to public contempt and
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 85
abhorrence, if we are not delivered to the lions, as were the
ancient Christians, it is because the liberality of our governors,
and the honesty of the people, have outstripped the candour of
their religious teachers. Itis true that all are not guilty of these
injustices. There are some, though . comparatively few, who
abstain from misrepresentation ; and there are many who, un-
willing to defile their own lips with anti-catholic calumny, have
still no scruple in hiring shamless men to do it for them ; as
Saul, who refused to imbrue his hands in the blood of St.
Stephen, ^kept the garments of them that killed himJ* (Acts
xxii. 10.)
" Sec. 3. — Here, again, it is to us a subject of much rejoicing,
that the Catholic body has shown itself, under this severe trial,
observant of the apostle's admonition. Seldom have they
* returned railing for railing^ and never, I believe, have they
returned cal umny for calumny. I remember no instance in which'
Catholics have misrepresented the doctrines of others. Gene-
rally have they remained silent, under the injuries heaped upon
them, as our Blessed Saviour remained silent under the accusa-
tions of the Jews. In some few instances it is true, we have
had occasion to regret that the meekness of our Divine model
has not been kept in view. [We allude to some controvertists
who have begun to apply certain reproachful terms, such as
heretics, to our separated brethren, and to write of such in a style
of asperity and harshness. It is easy to cloak the motives of
such proceedings under the pretence of extraordinary zeal for
the truth, and it is easier still to meet with those who will
applaud a conduct which harmonizes so agreeably with the cor-
rupt dispositions of the human heart. But oh ! how much is it
to be lamented that Catholics should, in any instance tarnish so
good a cause as theirs, ("^o-*)] with the smallest tinge of human
infirmity. How much more Christian-like, and how much more
efficacious would be their defence, if it were modelled upon the
advice of St. Peter, * not rendering evil for evil, nor railing for
railing, but contrariwise blessing!' (1 Peter iii. 9.) Let this
advice, my Beloved, be the rule of your conduct under all pro-
vocations. * Let no evil speech proceed from your mouth ; but
that which is good to the edification of faith, that it may
*' Charges. No. 4. — It has been remarked that the author, who shows such
extraordinary tenderness towards the Protestants, might have been less severe
upon the converts. If the former are to be called, as he recommends, by a
milder name than that of heretics, surely it cannot be necessary to inveigh
so bitterly against converts, and call them perverse. Such, at least, is the
complaint generally made by the converts, who, as is unanimously attested
by the most conspicuous amongst the Catholic body, are for the most part,
distinguished for their superior virtue and eminent piety.''
H
Digitized by
Google
86 RECOLLECTIONS OP EMINENT MEN.
administer ffrace to the hearers Let all bitterness and anger^
and indignation and clamour^ he 'put away from, you, with all
malice ; and he ye kind one to another^ even as God hath for-
given you in Christ,^ (Eph. iv. 29, et seq.) Imagine not that
this advice is applicable only in your dealings with your brethren
who are * of the household of the faiths The obligation of
meekness and charity extends to all, whether believers or un-
believers, whether friends or foes. ^ I say toyou^ says Jesus
Christ, ^ love your enemies : do good to them that hate you :
hless them that curse you^ ond pray for them that calumniate
you,^ (Luke vi. 27.) Remember, that by imitating, in however
slight a degree, the conduct of your adversaries, you not only
offend against charity, but may offend against truth and justice.
They call you idolaters, blasphemers, enemies of God and man.
What then ? these imjust charges do not make you so. [But
they injure you and your holy cause, and they involve you in
injustice, if they provoke you to retort upon the adverse party
even the milder reproach of heretic. This term may be unjust,
and, if applied generally to all in error, is certainly so. (^o^) ]
For, though the Church has pointed out to us what doctrines are
heresies, she has not informed us what particular individuals are
heretics, or, in other words, who are obstinate adherents of error;
and it is pleasing and charitable, as well as reasonable, to hope
that, amongst the erring^ there may be many who are not guiltily
so, and to whom, consequently, the term ?teretic could not, with-
out falsehood and injustice, be applied.
. " Sec. 4. — [I observed to you, that most of the evils of which
the apostle complains as afflicting the. body of the faithful, arose
from the difficulty of eradicating from the breasts of converts
the vices and paeons which held sway over them before their
conversion. It is painfully interesting to observe how distance
of time produces no difference in tlie workings of the human
passions. The greater part of our difficulties in^ this country
still originate in the same source, though the number of converts
** Chargks. No. 6.-— The. converts deny their showing any asperity, eitiier
in words or actions, towards Protestants ; and, in proof thereof, adduce the
numerous conversions which they make among their old co-religionists, and
the amicable terms on which they live with them. On the other hand,
tbey. say that Dr. Baines had nothing else in view than to^a^ter Protestants,
treating them almost like Catholics, whilkt he reserves all his bitterness for
the converts. . In fine, they declare that none of them have ever thought of
giving the name of heretic to individual Protettontv,or of exasperating them
by other sudi appellations ; but when they speak of or write against any
sect notoriously heretical, how can the]r abstain firom denominating it so,
wi^out confomiding it with the Catholics, partieidarly in our tunes, when
the Protestants of the Oz£ord University affect to cdi themselves CatholiesJ^
Digitized by
Google
KECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 87
amongst us is a small minority; whereas, in the apostle^s time
they constituted the whole body of the faithful.
" Some filled with the presumption of their ancient sect, and
strangers to the humility of the religion they have embraced,
commenced their career by dictating to their spiritual rulers, as the
converted Jews dictated to the apostles, the conduct they ought
to pursue in the government of the Church. ^^^^-^ Having the
same itching ears as before, they choose for themselves teachers
to whom they give their confidence, and disregard those whom
God has placed over them, in the same manner that, as St. Paul
complains, the Corinthians had done in his regard: ^I will
most gladly spend, and be spent myself yf or your souls ; although
loving you more, I be loved less. But be it so,* (2 Cor. xii. 15.)
[Others having, before their conversion, ascribed no merit to
human works, performed through the efficacy of divine grace,
now running into an opposite extreme, ascribe to favourite
practises of piety and self-selected good works a merit which
neither reason nor religion recognize, ^^®- ^^ * / fast twice in
the week, I pay tithes of mint and cummin^ seems to be their
inward congratulation, if not their outward boast. [All who
join or imitate them in these exterior practices are applauded
by them as saints ; all who walk in an humbler and more beaten
track are scarcely allowed to be Christian. tNo.eoj
"Others manifest in all their conduct an inveterate dislike to
those whose errors they have forsaken. — Their language when
speaking of them is that of harshness, if not of dislike, and,
whilst they manifest an anxiety for their conversion, they take
the most effectual means to prevent it. [Is there a practice of
piety, which the Church tolerates rather than approves, which
•' Charges. No. 6. — ^The converts observe, that while they are regpected
hy Protestants, who have not brought aDV complaint against them, they are
severely ill-treated and abused by what they call a minority of their brethren^
Le. by a party, who, being little friendly to Roman maxims and devotions,
seem far more hostile to those who patronise them, than to herei^ itself^
which attacks the dogmas of the Catholic Church.
" Moreover, the converts add, that they only combat under the standard of
their Bishop, the Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District ; and that Dr.
Baines's object was not so much to combat the converts as Dr. Walsh, from
whom proceed in substance all those things, true or false, of which Dr.
Baines complains. The c(m verts constantly deny the accusations here
brought against them ; and, indeed it does not appear that l^ey can be.supt-
ported."
" No. 7. — He alludes to Sodalities, and. various kinds of devotion to which
the faithful are associated by some zealous missionaries of the Midland
Disl^ct appertaining to the class of converts," )
''No. 8--$uch an assertion is absolutely denied by the converts* and
declared to be i^ positive lie and calumny.*'
Digitized by
Google
88 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
good tcute cannot defend nor reason easily explain^ ^'^^-^^ which
is calculated to cod firm the prejudices of Protestants and rebut
them at the threshold of inquiry ? — ^this is the practice, of all
others, which these perverse ^^°- *®> converts parade on all occa-
sions, in preference to the most approved, most ancient, and
most impressive forms of Catholic devotion.] [Is there a
doctrine peculiarly obnoxious to Protestants^ which belongs not
to the code of defined dogmas^ and which Catholics^ therefore,
may wilhont censure reject ? ^^°- "^ — this doctrine is made a
motto for the title-pages of their books of piety , ^^^- ^^^ as if their
object was to deter the unbeliever from reading another line.]
[How different was the conduct of St. Paul ! He knew that it
was lawful in itself to eat meats that had been sacrificed to
idols ; but as others had not the same knowledge, or could not
overcome their former prejudices, he declared diat he would
never eat meat again rather than scandalize a weak brother.
* If meat scandalize my brother , I will never eat flesh ; ' and
he asserts that to act otherwise would be a crime against charity :
* When you sin thus against the brethren, and wound their
weak conscience, you sin against Christ,^ (1 Cor. viii. 11-13.)
O how amiable, how kind were the feelings of this great apostle
to those Jews, who obstinately refused to be converted by him,
and who ceased not to persecute him and seek his life ! '("^'o-i^)"!
" Charges, No. 9. — It is thouf^ht that he here alludes to ^eDevotitm of
the Sacred Heart, — nay, it is even affirmed* that undoubtedly the author,
whose principles and actions upon this subject are said to be known, has
here in view this devotion, for which, in spite of his fears, the ProtestaiAs
have so great an affection, that they become converts to the failh.
"No. 10. — ^Why, it is again asked, such mildness and tenderness
towards Protestants, to whom he will not even give the name of heretics, and
why so much bitterness towards the perverse converts ?
"No. II. — ^A book dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, containing
the. prayers, with the indulf^ences annexed, for the conversion of England,
published with the motto : O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who
nave recourse to thee ?
"No. 12. — Are then the converts, and the sincere and tender devotions
of the Roman Church, evils af^inst which a person may inveigh ?
"Charges, No. 13. — A wise economy will reserve the less essential parts
of religion for the time when the new converts shall be prepared for more
solid and substantial food, but it will not violate Catholic truth, for the
purpose of caressinfi^ heresy : besides, the fact itself shows, that they who
support a contrary system are as unsuccessful in making converts (even if
apostacy be not frequent among them) as those are successful who follow
the immutable principles of the Roman Church. Here also the accusation
recoils upon the Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District, the flourishing
state of whose vicaiiate seems to speak highly in his favour.
** Heresy penetrated into England by separating it from the centre of
CalAo/tc unity, and by rejecting the authoiity of the Church; conversion
cannot be effected but by returning to that centre. "When authority has
heen once admitted, it will he easy to admit also all the truths and pious
practices sanctioned by it.
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 89
^ I have great sadness^ says he, ^and continual sorrow in my
heart ; for I wished to be an anathema from Christ for my
brethren^ who are my kinsmen according to the flesh!' (Rora. x.)
In the same discreet and charitable spirit, with what skill, with
what delicacy, with what kind attention to the prejudices of his
hearers, does he preach the gospel to Festus, to Agrippa, to the
philosophers of Athens ! How anxious to conciliate their
favour to his cause ! How careful to avoid every expression or
allusion that could give offence ! Such was the charity which
this generous convert and glorious apostle had learnt from his
heavenly instructor, and never for a moment forgot.
" [We have seen that St. Paul thought it necessary to caution
his converts against ^giving heed to foolish and old wive^ fables^
(1 Tim. iv.) which some of them found more attractive than the
simple precepts of Christianity. He reminds these ^vain babblers^
as he calls them, that ^the end of the commandment is charity
from a pure hearty a good conscience and an unfeigned faith^
The same natural dispositions have produced the same effects,
and require the same reproof in these days. (^®- ^*^] Dissatisfied
with the humble and unostentatious practice of religious
duties, some of our converts ambitiously aspire to higher
things. Disdaining to walk amongst the crowd, in the lowly
and beaten path of Christian simplicity and humility, they
soar into the clouds and attempt to pry into the hidden councils
of God. If the world is not governed to their satisfaction, or if
the divine judgments are not distributed as they think they
ought to be, instead of bowing in submission to the all-wise
providence of God, they eagerly catch at * old wivei fables^ in
the shape of prophecies, or at the opinions of enthusiastic men
like themselves, on which to build their theories. Soon these
idle speculations become to them realities, and the peace of the
Church is disturbed in their attempt to induce, or rather to
compel, its rulers to adopt their wild and wayward fancies. It
is painful for us to say any thing that may wound the feelings
of others, whoever they may be ; and it is the more so in this
instance, as for some of the individuals to whom we allude, we
entertain profound respect. But our public station renders it
necessary that we should publicly make known our sentiments ;
lest our silence should be interpreted, as we fear it has already
been, as giving approbation to what we strongly disapprove.
" Sec. 5. — Every onehas heard of the efforts that have, for some
" Charges, No. 14. — ^The converts loudly demand that these *old wive$'
fables^ be explained, and that those who spread them, or give credit to them,'
be pointed out and made known. The converts declare themselves griev-
ously hurt at such vague and ungrounded accusations.
Digitized by
Google
90 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
time past, been made to obtain the sanction of the bishops for
public prayers to be weekly offered for the conversion of Eng-
land, which conversion is represented as an event so likely to
occur, as to justify this extraordinary measure. Could we view
the event in this light, we should think it our duty to offer up
our most humble and fervent prayers for its speedy accomplish-
ment, and we should most earnestly recommend the same to all,
over whom we have authority. But even in this case we should
hesitate, before we made a public display of our proceedings ;
lest we should thereby give unnecessary offence, and excite op-
position to the object we wished to promote. [But so far from
believing the event to be probable, (we speak of a general,
national conversion), we consider it as morally impossible j and
therefore J not to he made an object of public prayer in any
other sense than is intended by the Church, when in her annual
offices she prays that God ^ would purge the world of all
errors, remove sickness, dispel famine^ open all prisons, loosen
evei'y bond, grant a happy return to all travellers, and a port of
safety to all at sea^ (Office of Good Friday.) In this sense we
do and ought to pray for the conversion of England, always
with the understanding that our prayers should be heard, in the
manner, and at the time, most consistent with the mercifiil but
inscrutable providence of God. The Church is well aware that
it is within the range of the divine power to convert at once all
pagan nations to the Christian faith, and to bring back all who
have £Ei.llen into error to the unity of the fold ; yet has she never
prayed for this event in any other than in the manner de-
scribed. She has never appointed a weekly form of prayer to
be offered for this express purpose, nor encouraged her children
to expect its accomplishment on the plea that ^ whatever we
ask we shall receive,^ ^^^- ^^-^ As to the prophecies which some
" Charges. No. 16. — ^Therefore according to him, it was very wrong for
the Holy See to have granted indulgences for such prayers ; very wrong for
the Catholic Institute of London to have published and spread them ; very
wrong for the Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District to have so strongly
recommended them ; very wrong for aU the Catholic bishops in France suid
other kingdoms, who have warmly embraced them, without any complaint
on the part of Protestants — the more respectable part of whom seem rather
to derioe the furious exertions of the Anglicans in support of heresy, which
the Catholics can now combat the more openly, as the more thinking part of
the English are less disposed to support it, and as they now begin reluctantly
to bear with the exorbitant wealth of the so-called Anglican Hierarchy, an
establishment ridiculed even by its own proselytes. Besides, every one
knows, that the first author of the prayers for the conversion of England
was the celebrated Dr. Wisemao> rathw than the converts. Mr. Sjpenoer
was merely the author of an association of prayers introduced into Franc©,
and which afterwards penetrated into Germany, Holland and Italy, for the
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 01
pretend to haye been nuide on this sabject, and by indiioh, we
suppose, the promoters of the sebeme in question must be really
influenced, we consider them as the ^ old tcivei fables' ofwbich
St. Paul speaksy and upon which, as rulers in the Churchy we
can neither consistently nor eanonically allow public dcYOtions
to be grounded. We are well aware that prophecy, like the
Other miraculous gifts, has at all times existed in the Church ;
and had the prophecies in question been eanonically investigated
and pronounced genuine by the competent authorities, we should
have given our assent to them as founded upon the strongest
human probabilities ; but to give credit to them on mere hear-
say evidence, we consider imprudent, and to found upon such
hearsay evidence, public practices of religion, we consider su-
perstitious.
^^Sec. 6. — [If others, invested with the same authority as our-
selves, think proper to act differently, (^^' ^^^ we take it for granted
that they have reasons, which we have not, for believing the
object prayed for to be within the range of moral possibilities ;
or that they are not acquainted with the reasons, which we have,
for believing that object to be as morally impossible as iJie
return of the rwgrds skin to its antediluviaai whiteness. (^**- ^^-^
So far, therefore, from approving this novel and extraordinary
project, we disapprove it, aoad strictly forbid any of our clergy to
offer up publicly in their Churches or Chapels the weekly
prayers above mentioiied* (Noisoj ^^ ^q same time, w^
earnestly exhort them to pray, as has been customary, for
all spiritual and temporal blessings in favour of our cpuntryp
and for the conversion of such erring souls, as God in his mercy,
may be pleased so to favour, and of whom, we doubt not, there
will be a great and continually increasing number.
"There is another object which we recommend,dearly Beloved,
to your particular attention, and for which we have the highest
authority. A vast harvest lies open before us in this extensive
district, but labourers are wanting to gather it : ^ Pray ye there-
fore the Lord of the harvest^ that he send labourers into his
imploring on Thursdays, the mercy of God in (kvour of En^^laod. The
universal favour which these prayers obtained, and their prodigious diffusion
encouraged by bishops, might be considered as an earnest of their efficacy.
And, after all, who says that such a mercy has not been in other cases
implored by the Church ? "
** Charger. No. 16.— He alludes to Dr. Walsh, who in his District has
authorized and ordered the prayers for the conversion of England."
•' No. 17. — Let each one consider how far this is edifying in a Pastoral^ and
whether it be consonant with the divine mercy."
" No. 18.— And thus he disapproves and condemns what the Holy See en-
couraged and commended."
Digitized by
Google
92 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
harvest,^ (Luke x. 4.) [It has ever been the plan of divine
providence to call unbelievers to the faith through the ministry
of apostolic teachers. (* How shall they believe Him^ of whom
they have not heard ? and how shall they preach unless they he
sent V) If, then, our countrymen are to be converted, preach-
ers must be provided. And how are they to be provided?
Undoubtedly as they have been in every age, by the charity or
voluntary contributions of the faithful. ^^^-^^ ^] On this resource
did our Blessed Saviour himself and his apostles depend for
their support ; so that it may truly be said, that the Christian
religion is founded upon charity, and owes its progress amongst
unbelievers to the grateful liberality of those who, through the
mercy of God, already believe. ' Pray then the Lord of the
harvest that he send labourers into his harvest ;"* — [and, to
prove that your prayers are sincere, enter zealously into the
plans which your pastors are establishing for raising funds for
the education aud support of Catholic Clergy.]
"This species of charity, * the most meritoriousy as you
have often been told, * of all others^ because productive of the
greatest public blessings, will be most acceptable to God at all
times, but particularly at the present, when the Church com-
mands you to join your brethren throughout the world in pro-
pitiating God by a solemn fast; ^for prayer (says an inspired
authority) is good with fasting and alms^ more than to lay up
treasures of gold; for alms deliverethfrom deaths and the same
is that which purgeth away sinsy and maketh to find mercy and
life everlasting.^ (Tobias xii. 8, 9.)
" In the full confidence that you will thus make up for your
inability to comply with the whole canonical rigours of this holy
fast, we hereby grant you the following dispensations for the
ensuing Lent : —
" 1. Flesh meat is allowed on all Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, begin-
ning with the First Sunday of Lent, and ending with Palm Sunday
inclusively ; Tuesdays and Thursdays at dinner only.
" 2. Eggs are allowed every day, except Ash-Wednesday and the four last
days of Holy Week. On week days at dinner only.
" 3. Cheese is allowed on all days except on Ash- Wednesday and Good
Friday ; on week days at dinner only. Eggs and cheese, when allowed
at dinner, may be used at other hours of the day by those who are not
obliged to fast.
" [We earnestly exhort you, beloved Brethren and Children
that you cease not to offer up fervent prayers for our beloved
- ** Chargbs. No. 19. — He would not authorize the collection for the
Propagation of the Faith; he even opposed it; and now he positively de-
mands one for his own Clergy.
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 93
Qaeen, that Ood may crown her with all blessings spiritual and
temporal ; and as her recent union with the Prince Albert makes
her happiness dependent on his, we enjoin that the name of his
Royal Highness be added to that of her Majesty in the prayer
usually added to the Post-communion, of which we subjoin a
form:— (^'«- 200]
" The grace of God be with you all. Brethren. Amen.
+ " Peter Augustine,
" Bishop of Siga, V.A. IV., S^c.
" Prior Park, 24th Feb., 1840.
^^Oratio Post-comrnvnioni addenda. — Et famulostuos Grego-
rium Papam, Petium antistitem nostrum, Victoriara Reginam
nostram, cum Alberto consorte, cum doiuo regia, cum populo et
exercitu ipsi commissis, ab omni adversitate custodi ; pacem
tuam nostris concede tempoiibus, et ab Ecclesia tua cunctam
repelle iniquitate. Per Dominum, &lc.^
"To THE Most Eminent and Most Reverend Prince,
Cardinal Fransoxi, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation
DE Propaganda Fide, &c. &c. &c.
" Most Eminent and Most Reverend Prince, — Having been
called upon by your Eminence to give an account of my late
Lenten Pastoral, which, it seems, ha^ been denounced to the
Sacred Congregation, as a work highly censurable, I readily
comply with your Eminence's commands, and will first give a
history of the circumstances which led to the composition of the
said Pastoral, and then add a brief reply to the particular
objections which have been brought against it.
" The twelve months which preceded the publication of the
Pastoral, had been a period of great anxiety and alarm in
England. A spirit of disaffection to the government, and even
to the civil constitution of the country, had begun to manifest
itself amongst the lower orders of the people. Private associa-
tions, bound together by secret oaths, were beginning to be
formed in many of the great towns, and it was not without the
greatest exertious, on the part of the Bishops and Clergy, that
die Catholics were withheld or withdrawn from these dangerous
and illegal confederations. At last the latent dissatisfaction
broke out into open resistence, and rebellion took place, which
was happily suppressed, though not without the shedding of
blood, and the excitement of a general alarm throughout the
country. It was a subject of peculiar gratification to me, as
well as highly creditable to the Catholic religion, that, though
the revolt took place in a part of the Western District,* where
'* Charges. No. 20— Of the Sovereijjrn Pontiff, of the Catholic Church,
not a word ; and, therefore, the converts say, that the only object of his
Bolicitade was to obtain the favour of the government and of the Protestants."
• South Wales.
Digitized by
Google
94 BECOLLBCTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
ihere were many thousands of poor Irish and some other
Catholics, not one was found to have joined the rebels whilst
many subjected themselves to serious losses and dangers in their
heroic abstinence from evil doing.
^* This happy result was chiefly owing to the unremitting
exertions of the Catholic clergy, who inculcated upon their
flocks the Christian duty of submission, and discouraged amongst
them all harsh and irritating topics, whether of a civil or religious
character. I was anxious, both for the consolation of the
Catholics and the information of the Protestants, to bring this
important fact before the public, in a way which would explain
to the nation the principles on which the Catholic bishops act
in the government of their flocks, and make them understand
that, whilst we are not blind to the abuses and errors of the
government, we are firm and immoveable in oiur determination
to support the lawful authorities, and to resist all attempts that
may be made to draw our flocks into acts of violence.
^^ The annual Pastoral afibrded me an opportunity of accom-
plishing these objects in a quiet and unostentatious way ; and I
am happy to find that it has given the satisfaction I anticipated,
both to Catholics and Protestants.
^^ It is evident, that if ever there was a time when it behoved
the Catholic body to conduct themselves peaceably and to avoid
all suspicion, either of being leagued with the di&wfiected, or of
vrishing the overthrow of the national institutions, it was the
present moment. The alarm which prevailed among the Angli-
can clergy and their friends, lest Catholic emancipation should
lead to tixe overthrow of the Anglican establishment, afibrded
another motive, which rendered it particularly desirable that all
indelicate triumphs and public boasting should be refrained
from by the Catholics, and that a quiet and conciliatory tone
should be used by them in all their communicatious with Pro-
testants. Unfortunately this was not the view taken of these
matters by a portion of the Catholic body.
*^ Elated by the advantage gained by the Act of Emancipa-
tion, and misled by the rapid influx of Irish labourers, who
every where swelled the numbers of the Catholic congregations,
and rendered necessary the erection of churches of larger dimen-
sions, they seemed to consider the Catholic cause as already
triumphant — proclaimed aloud the rapid increase of the Catho-
lic population — exaggerated beyond measure the number of the
converts that were made — boasted that in a short time the
Catholic religion would become dominant in England — and that
the Anglican establishment, which they assailed with every
species of vulgar and opprobrious epithets, would be presently
swept away.
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT M£N« 95
^^ As an earnest that these act« and predictions were sincere,
a priest of high distinction for his Protestant family connexions
and his great personal merits, undertook, with surprising energy
and perseverance, to induce the Catholic body, not only in
Great Britain but all over the Continent, to assist, by publio
prayers, in the conversion of England, which he described as an
event already far advanced, and likely soon to be accomplished.
Though the project was disapproved and discountenanced by
three out of Ae four Vicars Apostolic, as likely to give unneces-
sary offence, and to excite erroneous impressions respecting the
views and feelings of the Catholic body; and though the
individual above-mentioned was repeatedly urged to desist from
his pious but ill-timed project, be still continued to pursue it
with fresh ardour, encouraged by the approbation of many foreign
bishops, who were entirely mistaken as to facts, or wholly
ignorant of the peculiar circumstances in which England was
placed. The consequences were such as the Vicars Apostolic
had forseen. The English Protestants, knowing that all such
public prayers, when used by the Church of England, had been
ordained for political purposes, viz. to inflame the nation against
the Catholics, did not doubt that the public prayers now pro-
posed by the Catholics proceeded from similar motives.
" Hence the animosity of the Anglican party, already irritated
and alarmed by Catholic Emancipation, was roused to the
highest pitch, and a determined opposition was universally
resolved upon.
" Associations^ were formed all over the kingdom, for the
express purpose of resisting the Catholics, and of rendering
their religion and person odious ; moneys to a large amount were
annually collected, to pay for the writing and publication of
anti-Catholic works, and a body of men, distinguished for their
facility in public speaking, was organized as a standing polemical
army.
" Whenever a public discussion was accepted or provoked by
the Catholics, this body of men was sent to assist the Protestant
disputants, and when they had no other occupation, they
employed themselves in perambulating the country in every
direction, challenging the Catholic clergy and vilifying their
religion. The condition of the Catholic body became every day
more and more critical. Calumnies, which had begun to be
disbelieved, were revived, and the danger seemed manifest, lest,
in the event of any national convulsion, the Catholic party,
rendered universally odious, might be sacrificed to popular frenzy.
* The " Protestaut Associations."
Digitized by
Google
96 BECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
" There was evidently no way of appeasing the storm but by
resuming that quiet and peaceble demeanour which had, for
several preceding years, gradually allayed the public prejudices,
and gained for the Catholics the confidence of the nation.
'^ But the party of which I have spoken was averse to such
measures, which they represented as cowardly and deficient of
zeal. They were for open war with * the heretics^ and for carry-
ing every thing with a high hand. When they could draw a
bishop into their plans, even by the most urgent importunity,
they sheltered their proceedings under his authority, and, when
they could not obtain the sanction of an English bishop, they
asserted that they had the countenance of multitudes of foreign
prelates, of the Holy See and even of heaven itself. That they
possessed the sanction of heaven they attempted to demonstrate
in the usual way, viz. by prophecies and miracles. It was as-
serted that various holy men, in Italy and elsewhere, had long
prayed for England, and had predicted its speedy conversion,
that others had foretold that this desirable event would be pre-
ceded by a great national revolt, the horrors of civil war, the
overthrow of the throne, the spoliation of the Anglican Church,
and a grievous persecution of Catholics !
^^ All these idle and mischievous ravings were wispered about
and believed by the more fanatical of the Catholic body, but
chiefly by certain enthusiastic converts. The chief of the pro-
phets was a Cistercian lay-brother or oblate in a monastery of
the Midland District. This man had constant visions relating
to individuals and the nation at large. Amongst other divine
communications, he was informed that a lady of exalted rank,
since married, was never to marry, but to become the foundress
of a religious community, which was to usher in the conversion
of England. Another lady of rank, afliicted with a naturally
incurable malady, was to be instantly cured by certain processes,
which he detailed, one of which was the application of water to
her face, blessed, not in any manner which the Church has ap-
proved, but according to a form revealed to the prophet. For
the performance of this miracle the consent of the Vicar Apos-
tolic of his District was said to be obtained, and the lady was
brought, in an inclement season of the year, a distance of above
two hundred miles to receive the promised benefit. Fortu-
nately the indiscreet project was prevented by the firmness of the
Vicar Apostolic of the north, in whose district the prophet had
declared that the miracle was to be performed. Once the pro-
phet himself was instantly cured of blindness and mortal infir-
mity, by a remedy which had been revealed to him, viz., the
application to his eyes of the garment of some holy person
dipped m the sacred ablutions at Mass ! ! He has since been
Digitized by
Google
KECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 97
dismissed by the superiors'of his order as a madman or impostor.
" Nor was he the only worker of prodigies. A medal, which
it was asserted the Blessed Virgin had ordered to be struck,
had become in the hands of other fanatics the instrument of
numberless miracks, and, in the belief of many, whom I have
myself heard speak on the subject, possessed greater efficacy
than all the seven sacraments ! ! In many instances the uses
made of these medals amounted to positive superstition — the
confidence placed in their efficacy being wholly extravagant
and not justified by any sound argument, either of reason or
revelation.
" It is well known that persons who discover the true religion
at a mature period of life, and who are obliged to make violent
efforts, and perhaps great sacrifices, to embrace it, are apt to run
into extremes. Their nervous system has been strung up to
such a pitch, that none but the most highly seasoned practices,
and the most prodigious interpositions of Providence, can satisfy
them. Such persons require, in their first fervour, the restraint
of a pradentreligious guide, who may gradually bring them down
from their exalted notions, and make them understand the humi-
hty, meekness, and charity, in which true religion consists. Some
do not meet with such guides, and some will not follow them
when they do ; and honce, it has ever happened, and ever will,
that, amongst the converted, there will be found a certain num-
ber of indiscreet and untractable individuals, who can be coerced
only by strenuous measures.
"A small number of such persons had been the foremost,-
though not the only, agents in the extravagancies I have
described.
" The follies into which they were daily hurried could not be
concealed, and the Catholic religion, which had been gradually
gaining ground in the opinion of the public, by the quiet and
inoffensive conduct of its followers, began now to be considered
as a fanatical and dangerous system.
"On one hand, the follies of the prophets and miracle mongers
served as topics of ridicule amongst the Protestant orators,
whilst on the other, the abuse w^hich some of our controvertists
heaped upon the Anglican Establishment, and the alarm which
they excited amongst its followers, gave no small dissatisfaction
to our political friends and embarrassment to the government.
Some individuals of the highest rank, who had supported the
the Catholic cause in Parliament for many years declared to me,
that they could no longer support it, in the new character which
the fanatical party was giving to it.
" I have already mentioned that three out of the four Vicars
Apostolic of England greatly disapproved of the proceedings of
Digitized by
Google
6B RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINEI^TT MEN.
the fanatical party ; but as the latter contrived in some cases to
obtain the sanction of one Vicar Apostolic, a delicacy was felt
by the others in expressing public disapprobation of the said
proceedings.
" The necessity, however, of expressing such disapprobation
became every day more manifest, as the fanatical party became
emboldened by the absence of opposition.
" Projects now began to be entertained by them for reforming
the Catholic Church of England, both as to its religious obser-
vances and ecclesiastical ceremonies. Various practices of
piety, which most of the bishops considered better suited to
Catholic than Protestant countries, and some practices so
deformed by igpnorant and tasteless individuals as to be fit for no
country whatever, were pushed forward with unusual assiduity,
and the charge of indevotion was made against all who opposed
their introduction.
" Under the pretext of diminishing the objections which Pro-
testants have to a connexion with Rome, it was proposed to
re-establish the ceremonial of the aiicient Church of England.
For this purpose the form of the sacred vestments was altered to
what it was supposed to have been four or five centuries ago, and
so entirely did these new vestments differ from those in use
throughout the whole Latin Church, as to be no longer recognizable
as of the same genus. The chasuble, being nearly six feet in
width, hung in ample folds before and behind, and nearly
resembled a large shawl.
'^ The communion rail was omitted in the new churches, even
at the communion altar, the tabernacle was to be removed
from the altar, and the Blessed Sacrament suspended from the
ceiling by a chain or cord in a silver dove. On good Friday
the Consecrated Host was to be inserted in the breast of a full-
sized wooden or stone figure of our Saviour ih the tomb, and the
faithful were to watch before it till Easter Sunday. By degrees
the Roman Missal was to be set aside, and the old English
Missal of Salisbury substituted in its place. The formulas of
the Church were, as soon as possible, to be regulated by ancient
English Benedietionals, &c., and in short, the new English
Catholic Church was to be made as like as possible to what the
ancient one was, or was supposed to be, and to have as little
resemblance to or coii&exion with the Roman Church as the
unity of feith and communion would justify. For the same
reason the term Roman Catholic not only ceased to be used by
this party, but Was objected to as conveying inaccurate notions
of the nationality of the English Catholic Chwch. Many, it is
true, abstained from the use of this term for other and better
reasons, but some undoubtedly did so for the reasons above
mentioned.
Digitized by
Google
A BBBAM. 9Q
*^ Not content with introducing innovations within the limits
of a single district, they endeavoured secretly and openly to
spread Ihem in others. Letters were written to the missionaries
of other districts to gain them over to the party, whilst in certain
periodical works, occasional violent and scurrilous abuse was
heaped upon those who refused to have any connexion with
them.
'^ At last the party became so emboldened as to distribute in
the different districts without the consent of the Vicars Apos-
tolic, certain forms of prayer to be used in the public Chapels,
imagining that, as the Holy See had approved of some similar
prayers^ (for they did not pretend they were the same,) the
bishops would not dare to oppose their introduction.
'' It was at this juncture that my Pastoral was composed. Its
objects were such as I have explained. I was well aware of the
risks I incurred by opposing a body of innovators, who assumed
the character of superior piety and zeal, and who had so long
remained unopposed. I felt confident that they would carry
their secret complaints before the Holy See, but I confess I did
not expect they would find agents to misrepresent my motives and
disfigure my writings as lAiey have done. Their attempt to
stigmatize the Pastoral as hereticaly shows the spirit of the party,
and must be my apology if, in commentary on the other objec-
tions they have brought against it, I treat them with little cere-
mony. I am particularly anxious that your Eminence should
bear in mind, that 1 consider the following remarks as addressed
to my unknown accusers, not to your Eminence or to any other
authority of the Holy See, to whom I shall always be anxious to
show, as, on every account I am bound to do, the most sincere
deference and most profound respect."
But I must defer until next month the bishop's stinging reply
to tlie accusations brought against him. (7b be continued.)
A DREAM.
The following is no fiction. I did dream this dream many years ago, I
did wake up in the manner described. I did relate it immediately ; and«
within a few hoars, I wrote it down. B. S.
Last night, the page of Job had to my mind
Its woes and reasonings for a while display'd.
I sought my bed. I slept : and soon a dream
Came viTidly upon my spirit, thus
Let me retrace its fancies, and declare
Visions that beamed most brightly o'er me then.
Digitized by CjOOQ IC
I
100 % A DREAM.
Methougbt that I were Job or some poor man
Opprest by Fate with suffering dire, unjust:
But the most heavy woe that smote my soul
Was a decree that lately had gone forth —
From whence I knew not — that I soon should cease
To exist, to be ; — mine essence all-resolv'd
To soulless, mute, unconscious nothingness.
The prospect I deplor'd with many a sigh
And a deep feel of utter misery.
While gazing on the lifeless blank that Fate
So soon decreed to be my cheerless lot.
At length, a voice broke loudly on mine ear,
Sounding as from above, that kindly said,
" Poor fool ! go ope' the Book again and read."
Quickly I tum'd me to the ponderous tome
Of Holy Writ ; and opening wide, at chance,
Mine eager eye alighted first and dwelt
On the conclusion of a verse which spoke
On matter that escaped my glance ; though thus
The line concluded, after dots " to die.**
" To diCj^ methought : and to my drooping soul
The words a strange peculiar sense convey'd
Of Christian death, and only Christian death.
Leading to speedy resurrection.
" To die! " I suddenly exclaim'd ; "is that
The only woe this hostile fate decrees ?
Is that the change this fainting mood foretels ?
To die ! I heed it not : the word conveys
E'en in its very essence promise sure
Of future life ! Oh, joy! oh, joy!" I cried.
" Resurgam ! " I exclaimed, " if that is all."
And starang on my bed, I clapp'd my hands ;
While o'er me broke a strong uncertain light ;
And billows of pale clouds were wav'd aside
And through them stream'd a radiance bright from heayen.
I gaz'd in expectation wild — and woke :
But with such feelings of most pure delight
Oh, at my death, may I as gladly hail.
With blissful, cheering hope, that word to die.
Digitized by
Google
lOJ
SUNDAY CHIT-CHAT.
BY THE EDITOR.
Sunday. — No post day. No letter day. No newspaper day.
What are we to do with ourselves ? We have been working
hard all the week in our chambers in the Temple. We have
turned over musty papers and law books, and, by snatches, the
pages of the last new novel, which we pushed under a heap of
parchments whenever we heard a client's knock at the door : we
have laboured, as hard as others do for six days ; and now we
are rejoicing, as others rejoice, to ruralise on this seventh day of
rest We have been to church : we have joined our unworthy
prayers to the merits of the Sacred Victim. But now, shade of
Sir Andrew Agnew ! tell us how to employ the remainder of the
day. We are too far from our church to be able to walk to it
again. We will read Vespers by and bye, and a sermon (on the
third commandment) ; but our mind needs relaxation ; and we
cannot do much more in the way of piety. We cannot take
walking exercise for, as all the world knows, we are lame : let
us, however, hobble round our garden as far as the white gate
that opens upon the dull lane near which our villa has seated
itself; and, turning to the left, beside the laurel bushes, let us
creep under the weeping ash, and vnnd amongst the dozen apple
trees at the foot of which virbenas, carnations, wall flowers, and
sweet peas bloom : let us then (taking a nibble at the mustard
and cress as we pass) creep on into the little kitchen garden as
far as the bower in which we are afraid to enter, for, although
the pea sticks have been, at last, removed, spiders hang down
from its thatch, and the benches are so beguanoed that we dare
not rest our weary limbs upon them : on, therefore, let us hobble
— taking care not to tread upon the one chick of the hen that is
tied by its leg to the cherry tree, nor upon the many voracious
ones that rush from the coop that encumbers the narrow walk
and riotously chirp for food : on, therefore, let us hobble — ^past
the strawberry beds where there is nothing left to detain us —
past the sweet jessamines trained against the paling of the coach
yard, back into the flower garden and in at the open door of the
pretty conservatory. We may tarry here a few^ minutes —
moving every plant and flower-pot back to the place from which
we moved it a day or two ago, and from which it vnll be moved
again next time we come : — we may linger here or in the elegant
little drawing-room beside it ; but we have read all the richly-
bound books on the shelves of the rosewood and marble chiffoniers ;
china and nick-knacks encumber the tables ; and though anti-
VOL'. XII; I
Digitized by
Google
102' SUNDAY CHIT-CHAT.
Macassors protect every couch, we fancy that we shall he more
comfortahle in our little parlour up stairs. We hohble up, and
throwing ourselves upon the sofa, listlessly take up yesterday's
^^ Times/' and are soon deeply interested in the advertising
columns.
And is it to produce such a Sunday as this in thousands of
homes from Hackney to Fulham, that Lord Sackclolli*and-
Ashes and his co-peers bave laboured ?
" Papa, why is there no post to-day ?" inquired a litde girl.
^'Because Lord John Russell thinks that Mr. Lee, our
upholsterer and post-master, is too worldly-minded ; and has
therefore ordered him to spend the whole of the Suaday on his
knees on the top of his counter."
^' What ! are all post-masters obliged to kneel on their coun-
ters all day long?"
" Every one of them. Their shutters are shut; but there they
are kneeling : and they are to be severely punished if they get
down on any accoimt whatever."
As our eye drowsily wanders over the advertising columns of
the old newspaper, it is caught by the name of Dr. Rock —
announced as one of the contributors to a weekly antiquarian
publication. Though we cannbt but grudge to our contemporary
any thing from the pen of Dr. Rock that would grace our own
pages, yet will we occasionally endeavour to resign his support
in the hope that the other learned contributors to that paper will,
in time, know the difference between Mass and Tenebra) ; and
will no longer talk, as Sir Walter Scott ingenuously did, of
" Evening Mass."
As mediaeval lore and etymology are iu vogue just now, we
would ask some of these scholars to tell us whence is derived
the word " asparagus" — vulgarly pronounced sparrow-grass.
**Unde derivatur ?" they exclaim : "any on© can answer that
query : from a, privative and <nr€tp€<r$ai to sow — because it grows
many years without sowing." So the dictionaries say. Wise
dictionaries ! On the same principle, wherefore is not an oak
tree called asparagus? — ^it, too, grows many years without sowing.
^* Lucy," we said to a child of sixteen, (she was not a diction-
ary maker, but a Catholic), "Lucy, whal; do you think is the origin
of asparagus ?"
" Asparagus," she replied musing : " in French, it is asperges :
may it not have had something to do with siH-inkling holy water ?
Asperges me hyssopo et muudabor — ' Thou shalt sprinkle me
with hyssop and I shall be cleansed.' "
Learned men are, doubtless, not aware that such is the begin-
ning of the Anthem from Psalm 1., sung before Mass, while the
?riest sprinkles holy water over the congregation with a brush.
?his we have seen done occasionally with the bough of a tree,
Digitized by
Google
SUNDAY CHIT-CHAT. 103
as, in former times, it was always wont to be : what could more
effectually scatter the water than the feathering stalk of the
asparagus, when too old to eat and before the red b^Miies drop,
like coial beads, from each tapering branch ? Learned men
will perhaps have learning enough to twit us that this was a
pagan custom used at ancient Roman sacrifices : they may
quote
** Spargite me Ijmphis ; carmenque recentibus aris
Tibia Mjgdoniis libet eburna cadis."
Propert : iv. 6, 7.
With water dew me : while Mjgdonian wine
Dnps round the altars, wake the pipes divine.
True enough: and we remember lines in Virgil of similar
import : —
" Idem ter socios pura circumtnlit unda
Spargens rare levi, et ramo felicis olivse."
-^n : vi. 330.
Then three times walked he round the social crew,
From a blest olive branch still sprinkling dew.
Very pagan indeed is our use of holy water ! we own it ; and,
for our own part, we love it more on that account : as its very
antiquity proves to us that the custom must either be in accord-
ance with some unexplained natural sympathy of the human
soul, or that it must have come down to us from some forgotten
revelation. The pagan priest at the funeral of Misenus, from
which we have quoted, sprinkles the people three times : there
was a mysterious charm in the number three. To satisfy the
infernal gods, earth was cast three times upon the dead body.
The concocters of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer must
have gone back to the same source from whence we all draw
some of our ceremonies when, in the burial service, they directed
the clerk to throw earth upon the coffin three several times while
the minister should repeat the words : ^^ earth to earth, ashes to
ashes, dust to dust.'' Each number of this sentence means the
same thing : it is much admired : but sober Protestantism has
no more idea that the ceremonial is a continuance of a pagan
rite than that the very word funeral is derived from the ^' funes
accensi — the lighted torches," formerly biuned even at noonday,
at. the burial of the pagan dead !
Let us recur to the advertisements in ths "Times." Want.
Places through two columns. Poor things ! What countless
numbers of ladies^-maids, . wet-nurses and governesses offer
their fingers, their milk or their talents to an over-supplied
public ! Cooks are the only people who seem to be in request :
I 2
Digitized by
Google
104 SUNDAY CHIT-CHAT.
here are fifteen advertisers who want '^ good-plain cooks.'' But
wherefore, we thought as we drowsily lay on the sofa, wherefore
should they be so anxious to have " plain" cooks ? Why should
a cook's beauty be a disqualification, as it apparently is ? To
our own taste, we fancy that the cream would be sweeter if it
were smiled upon by good looks, rather than curdled by sour
ones. If ever we have to advertise for a cook, it shall be for a
handsome one rather than a plain one.
** The advertisement would be objected to," observed some
one : " it would be thought improper."
" Improper ! " we exclaimed : " Corpo di Bacco ; as we say
at Rome, what impropriety would there be in advertising
* Wanted. A pretty-good cook ? ' — we do not want a plain
one : we want a tolerably good one : — a pretty, good cook : —
the comma between pretty and good, may pass for an error of
the press."
The cookery of the Reform Club used to be celebrated when
M. Spyer presided over cet apartment le plus interessant de
rhotel, as every Frenchman thinks the kitchen ; and his kitchen
was also celebrated for the beauty of the cooks he employed.
And yet it seemed to be a very quiet, unpretending little esta-
blishment. The kitchen itself was, by no means, large ; though
the fire places were of glorious dimensions — the bars being
placed perpendicularly instead of horizontally. But M. Soyer
himself was the great charm of the establishment : and as he
pulled out little drawers in which were little cutlets ready
trimmed and lying between ice till called for, and conversed
familiarly or artistically on cookery or on his wife's painting,
he reminded one of Reynolds, to whom the haunch was sent,
** nndrest,
" To paint it or eat it just which he liked best"
M. Soyer has an admirable talent of adapting himself to the
people amongst whom he is thrown. During the famine, he
went to Ireland ; and knowing that the Irish delight in " a broth
of a boy," he invented soup kitchens for them. He presided at
the recent agricultural gathering at Exeter; and aware that
farmers have been ever considered pudding-headed, he signal-
ised himself by inventing a pudding. He called it a ^^ buddine
a la Exeter ;" and has generously offered the receipt to the
editors of all the newspapers of the country.
On the same festive occasion, he also improved on the art of
^a«tronomy by roasting a bullock whole by gas.
What learned man will now question the derivation of the
word gastronomy ? He will expose himself if he does : but that
will be no unusual accident : —
*' Quern Deus vult perdere prius dementat."
Digitized by
Google
SUNDAY CHIT-CHAT,
ro6
a fine Roman epigram, we have been told by them from our
youth upwards ! although, in fact, it is not Roman at all ; but
only a translation of a Greek iambic in Euripides. " Demento,"
so used, is not classical.
Between cooks and veterinary surgeons, scarcely an adver-
tisement intervenes. All modes of life and of speculation are
mixed up together in these columns, much as they are in the
real world ; and our present humour inclining us to etymology,
we beg to inquire of the learned whence comes the word
veterinary ?
"Latin."
What Latin ? — Do you give it up ? — ^Annimalia V6t6rina —
Pliny Nat. Hist. 8. 42. — (Veheterina seu vecterina : from veho,
to carry) beasts of burden. YStSrinariiis, a horse-doctor.
But the jumble of cognate languages, the use of words having
the same sound to express different meanings, and the appro-
priation of different words to denote similar ideas, is even more
amusingly traced in modem than in ancient languages. We
have all heard the story of the English sailor who had been
ashore in France, and who, returning to his fellows, exclaimed,
** Jack, do you know what they call cabbage ? why they call it
shoe ! d — ^mn *em, why can't they call it cabbage." So a French
girl, petting ano^er, calls her not **her little duck," but her
" cabbage " or " her fowl — " mon choux," or " mon poule."
We say, in England, that the bird that is eaten at Christmas
with tongue comes from Turkey ; the French say that it is from
India — D'inde ; and we ourselves have puzzled English children
by assuring them that Dinde was the French for goose : — in the
moral sense, where, in English, we should call a person "a
goose," in French, he would be called " a turkey — dinde."
It is not generally known that the Turkey oak, now so much
cultivated in England, is so called because the turkey selects to
roost upon it of all the trees of the American forests.
In England, we talk of " Venetian blinds," having derived the
articles from Venice : French etymology gives them another
origin and calls them " Persiannes."
Without much stretch of orthography or ideas, we may say
thatthe French for a "town" is a" villa;" for a"city" acountry
'"seat;" and that the English for a "bon vivant" is "bad liver."
Who can doubt but that our amiable exclamation "oh dear !"
is engrafted upon the French "oh Dieu!" or that our national
abjurgation " God damn ! " is a corruption of the French expletive
"dame," and only means "by God and Our Lady"; — having
been so euphoniously improved by our dread of Popery and
our avoidance of the Blessed Virgin ?
The classical-sounding expression "hocus-pocus," was evident-
Digitized by
Google
108 SUNDAY CHIT-CHAT.
ly imagined by those who intended it as a slur upon the doctrine
of Transubstantiation, and refers to the words of consecration
— "hoc est coi-pus meus.*'
We once heard an Englishman curse himself for not haTing
remembered that bulli was French for a bull ! We were dining
at a table d'hote, where this person was relating that, in the
course of his morning's walk, he had been run after by a furious
ox. Unfortimately, however, he could not recollect the French
for ox ; and having explained "jai et6 courru apres par un
I have been run after by a ," he was thrown upon
his ingenuity to supply the place of a dictionary. "Courru
aprds," he resumed, "par un comment vous appellez ox
— run after by a ; what is the French for ox?"
None of the French listeners could help him.
"Ohoui!" he joyfully recommenced: "courru aprds par un
aprds la soupe : qu'est ce que c'est aprds la soupe ?—
run after by a after the soup : what comes after the soup?"
The hearers were still in the dark.
"Ga9on," cried the Englishman; as usual, omitting the r.
"Plait-il, monsieur?*' said the waiter.
" Apportez moi aprds la soupe — bring me after the soup."
' Still no sign of apprehension in waiter or company.
"Apr^s la soupe, d — mn it! apportez moi le plat apr^s la
soupe — bring me the dish after the soup."
A ray of intelligence shot across the waiter's mind. He ran
and fetched the remains of the dish of bulli always served
then.
"Oh oui!" exclaimed our countryman, "comment vous ap-
pellez 5a — how you call that?"
"Mais, monsieur, c'est du bulli — why, sir, it is bulli."
"Oh oui! oui!" joyfully cried the narrator; "jai ete courru
apres par un bulli — I have been run after by a bulli."
"And what a cursed fool I was," he added in an "aside"
whisper, "not to remember that bulli was French for bull !"
"But how is all this connected with our present Post-offics
observance of the Sunday ?" a captious reader may querulously
inquire. The connexion with it is that of cause and effect: a
weary Simday makes a man querulous ; just as the patriarch of
Constantinople foimd that fasting made him cross and, therefore,
gave himself a dispensation. " Surely the English people," aays
Mr. Fabre in his charming Lectures on the Spirit of St. Philip
Neri, "surely the English people are greatly in need of holiday
and recreation. These long hours of work, these unwholesome
atmospheres, these s^eel-filings, soap-boilings, poison-polished
cards, stereotype-plate castings, gasometers, tan-pils, vitoriol-
works, and the rest of it, (he might have added legal studies,)
well nigh drain the life out of a man. His gloomy, wearisome,
Digitized by
Google
SUNDAY CHIT-CHAT. 107
slow-footed Sunday is all he has for his own ; almost to be ac-
counted lucky if, sometimes, work even then interferes with the
dead weight of his reflective unhappiness on that day. The
English artisans are in need of recreation. They will be a
happier people when they have it, and a holier people when
they are happier. Yet yon must make a man happy in his own
iTvay. A king and an archbishop have no divine right to issue
a book of sports, and thrust happiness down men's throats
against their will and out of their own way."
Still less right, we think, have they to thrust unhappiness
down men's throats by stopping their letters and their Sunday
newspapers.
We must, however, own that the feeling which legislative
enactments and Puritanism has engrafted upon the original
English character, is really opposed to all recreation whatever
on a Sunday — that it would have Simday to be kept as a day of
mortification : — an object which it has accomplished to per-
fection. Once, on a Sunday morning, we ordered post horses in
a retired country town where we had tarried some days, but in
which there was no Catholic Church, in the hope that we might
reach the first stage in time for divine service ; and we over-
heard the waiter in the passage say to the chambermaid —
^' On a Sunday ! Is'nt it strange for them to set off on a
Sunday ? "
'•' No : they are Romans : and they keep their Sabbath on
Friday. Do'nt you remember, they did not eat any meat on
that day ?"
That this really happened we do declare ^^ upon the true
faith of a Christian."
What a pious legislature is that of England ! With what
conscientious and unwearied diligence has it balanced the
meaning of these words, lest Baron Rothschild and his co-
religionists should invade and overpower the House of Commons,
and turn it into a Jewish Sanhedrim ! How strenuously at
length they decided the matter against the member for London ;
declaring that to be a positive enactment against him which
was before doubtful, and so placing the Jews in a worse posi-
tion than that which they occupied before ! Verily the bigotry
of this countiy is a disgrace to Europe. But at the same time,
we may observe that we see not wherefore Baron Rothschild
should not have taken the oath, debateable words and all. His
declaration that he would do so and so ^' upon the true faith of
a Christian" could not have implied that he was himself a
Christian. When a man says " I assure you it is so by
heaven, " it is not inferred that he thinks himself to be heaven :
when he exclaims, ^' I declare by all that's sacred, no one sup-
Digitized by
Google
108 SUNDAY CHIT-CHAT.
poses that he means to insist that be is himself all that is
sacred. So we think that the Jew might have pronounced the
words with a safe conscience, and have saved our pious le^s-
lators from the shame of making an illiberal affirmation in their
anxiety to show themselves liberal. But
" Incidit in Scjllam cupiens vitare Charybdim."
The learned men to whom we have before referred are foiid of
quoting that much-esteemed classical line ; which is not, how-
ever, to be found in any classical vnriter. It occurs in the
" Alexandries'* of Philip Gualtier, a French poet of the 13th
century ; and being in an address from the poet to Darius is,
correctly, " Incidis" &c.
Next year, however, the Jews are to be admitted into Parlia-
ment : so Lord John Russell says ; he said so three years ago.
Next year the doors of St. Stephen's are to be thrown wide open
*^ to all the faithful ; '' as many Catholic priests, with the book
of common prayer, please to translate the line in the Te Deum —
*' Tu devicto mortis aculeo, aperuisti credentibus regna coelorum.
" Death conquered, thou didst ope thy kingdom to believers."
There may be imagined a motive wherefore Protestants should
wish to generalise the number of those who are to be saved ;
and Duport, dean of Peterborough, has rendered the line
2v viXTitras ra Bavara ro acvrpov rfvoifas
jraai rois TrtrotV." &C.
but we see not why Catholics should condescend to the corrup-
tion of the original text, in order to save the tender consciences
of those who know that they are not " the faithful'' alluded to.
But the divines of the House of Commons have not been
employed only in interpreting an oath : they have also passed
a bill legalizing marriage between husbands and the sisters of
their vnves : — their dead wives, be it understood. When this
shall have become the law of the land, it is in contemplation to
introduce another bill to amend it and to allow a man to
marry two sisters living at once. What other improvements of
the sort may have been proclaimed, we know not; as no
member can, in the new House, hear anything that is said on
his own side of the room. England always manages to dis-
grace itself in its public buildings ; and we have now spent
millions in building a speaking-room in which no one can be
heard to speak — which is about as clever as if a naval architect
were to build a ship that would not svdm. We think it right,
however, to promulgate an opinion that is. gaining ground,
amongst Protectionist membera : namely, that instead of spendr
Digitized by
Google
SUNDAY CHIT-CHAT. H)9
log more thoasands in disfiguiitig this room for the Commons^
they should take the Lords' house, and that this one should
be given to the Lords ; for that as it becomes more and more
evident that nothing that the Peers say is attended to, it is im-
material whether they be heard or not.
And thus it is that, debarred, by puritanic regulations, from
an insight into our letters and journals that are, even now, lying
beside our post-master, Mr. Lee, as he kneels upon his counter,
we are forced to recur to the news of bygone days, and to muse
again on events that had been otherwise forgotten, like Alex-
ander, when
** Thrice he routed all his foes, and thrice he slew the slain."
But what can one do when thrown upon ones own resources in
a vUla, such as we have described, near — where shall we say ?
— near Putney.
'* Ou est on plus heureux qu*au sain de sa famille ?
Where is a man more happy than at home ?
asks the French poet : but Rousseau adds — " il n'y a rien de
plus charmant qu'un portrait de famille— mais un seul trait
manque defigure tout le reste. — Yes : so it is : " un seul trait
manque, when one feature is missing," and sad enough, heaven
knows, becomes all the rest ! Then the mask fits ill upon the
distorted features beneath, and can no more hide die real
feelings than can be concealed the native tones of the Irish
harp,
" Which so often has echoed the deep sigh of sadness
That e'en in its mirth it will steal from it still."
" Home, indeed, is home be it ever so homely,*' says the
proverb : but what is it that constitutes its homeliness i Is it
the accustomed strawberry beds and flower garden ? Is it the
well-known and well-used tables and chairs ?
*' Parva seges satis est : satis est requieecere lecto
Si licet, et solito membra levare toro.
Quam juvat immites ventos audire cubantem
Et dominam tenero continuisse sinu :
Aut, gelidas hibemus aquas quum fuderit Auster,
Securum somnos imbre juvante, sequi !"
A little paddock is enough : enough to rest in bed
If it may be, or stretch upon the accustomed couch instead.
How pleasant 'tis to lie in bed and hear the angry wind,
And closely fold upon your breast your lady- wife so kind ! —
To hear the wintry south wind pour its frozen torrents down,
And, lulled by the tempestuous rain, securely slumber on !
Says Tibullus, the sweetest and most gentle and most.hu-
Digitized by
Google
110 SUNDAY CHIT-CHAT.
manized and gentlemanly of Latin poets. Catullus, also, sings
the praise of home : —
" Cum mens onus reponit, ac peregjino
Lahore fessi venimus Larem ad nostrum
Desidera toque acquiescimus lecto,
Hoc est, quod unum est pro laboribus tantis."
The mind lays down its load : worn out we come.
Worn out with distant toil, we hasten home.
And on our wished-for bed we lay us down.
This all our toil repays, this, this alone.
'* Casa mia, casa mia
Qualche picciola che sia,
Tu sei sempre casa mia. "
My little cot, my little cot
Though small thou art, yet still I wot,
Thou art my home, my little cot.
Sings the Italian. The Frenchman talks of his chez mot: the
German of his heimaih ; the Mahometan of his harem ; and
all mean to express the same idea, as all denote it by the same
word. Let us not pride ourselves on the notion that home is a
plant of peculiar English growth : What is "home" but "domus''
without the d? What was the "larem" of Catullus, but the
" haram" which is, to the Mussulman the house of his wife and
children, the castle into which no officer of justice dare intrude?
And when the Magyar lately aroused him and sang, " Tulpra
Magyar hi a baza — up Magyar thy home calls on thee" — his
" haza" implied to him all that the " harem," the " home" the
" heimath," the " chez moi" and the " casa," pronounced by
Tuscans " hasa," typify to other nations. Mankind is but one
family, as their language will always reveal; however much
they may at times forget it. Hence the good of etymology
which may awaken an undreamed of family feeling amongst the
most distant people ; and may inimitably extend the kindred
tie by telling us that our comparatives better and worsey instead
of being derived from the positives good and had^ may find, in
far off Persia, the same ideas expressed by the words heh and
behter and bad and badter!
And now let us congratulate ourselves that we have got
through this " slow-footed Sunday" in an appropriata glass of
"heavy wet" to the health of General Brisot. " For years," an
old military officer said to us, " for years I had been in the
habit of drinking the health of General Brisot at the mess-table
without being able to find out who he was. When I first joined,
I was ashamed of showing my ignorance by asking: and as this
Digitized by
Google
THB RUINED ABBEY. Ill
wore off, and I began to make inquiries, I found that all my
brother officers were as much in the dark as myself: but still we
went on cheering and drinking the health of General Brisot
It is only lately that I have discovered that our friend, the
General, merely typified a Bris€6 Generate — a general smash
of bottles and glasses with which our predecessors used to rise
from table— when they did not fall underneath it."
nth Augusty 1850.
THE RUINED ABBEY,
[A reply to the " Two Wurshippers/' publisbed in Eliza Cook's Journal, Feb. 28.]
Yes, high the abbey walls are seen,
With turrets tow'ring to the sky.
For great and noble men I ween,
Did proudly with each other vie,
In raising structures that have been
A nation's pride in days gone by.
And do not mock the holy men,
Who to those cloister'd aisles retire ;
Renouncing all — wealth, fame, and then
Themselves denying ; but admire
Their inward grace. Think, think again,
What could such noble aim inspire ?
Perchance a lov'd and loving son,
A mother's joy, a father's pride,
Nurs'd in wealth's lap — their only one.
Whose ev'ry wish is gratified:
AVho might in heedless follies run:
With hound or hawk his hours divide : —
But no, within his inmost soul,
A secret voice did often speak ;
Now luring him to self-control,
Now sweetly pressing him to seek
His only end : that heav'nly goal.
And ev'ry earthly tie to break.
And thus he leaves his father's halls.
Where pomp and splendour on him wait,
And seeks within the abbey walls.
True peace in the monastic state.
Nor ever to his mind recals,
The sacrifice to deem it great.
Digitized by
Google
Hit THE RUINED ABBEY.
But doih he "crouch'' with servile fear,
When humbly kneeling to his God ?
Can hope and love no portion share,
In hearts that on the world have trod ?
If thus their liyes be sad and drear.
Why freely seek they this abode ?
Talk not of " superstition's glory ;"
But to the sacred Scriptures turn,
And simply read a gospel story, —
A bard from hence might somelliing learn.
When Christ, instructing young and hoary,
A lawyer would his counsel spurn:
He, like reformers now a days.
Has been brought up in God's commands.
But yearning for more perfect ways.
To hear from Truth's own lips he stands ;
And while admiring all he stays,
* What is still wanting ? he demands.
If yet thou wilt be perfect, so *
That heavenly joys may welcome thee.
Sell all thou hast, thy wealth forego,
And let the poor its sharers be :
Despising pleasures here below.
Leave all — "and come and follow me."
Tho' sorrowftd, he turns away.
And weakly yields to mammon's snare.
The seed is sown : — to this our day.
Those words rich fruit and blossoms bear.
Thou may'st the words condemn ; but they
Are heard and followed every where.
And tho' those walls no longer stand,
Where once uprose in pious strain
The solemn chant. A holy band.
Increasing daily, still remain,
To raise new abbeys o'er the land.
When England is herself again.
Mary E. K
I9th chapter of St. Matthew, 13th to 22iid verses.
Digitized by
Google
113
CTHE diary of MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
WRITTEN AT THE REQUEST OP HER BELOVED GRANDMOTHER,
THE LADY BETHUNE OP LINCLUDEN : COMMENCED THE IST
DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 1753.
(Continued from page 16.^
September 6, 1753. — This day being Sunday we saw not Lord
Derwentwater at breakfast, as he had left the mount early in
the morning to ride to Carbrechan, where there is a Catholic
Chapel and priest, as he belongs to that persuasion. My grand-
mother not feeling well, my brother and I preferred walking by
itie fields to the room where divine service is performed. The
Sim was shining brightly, and the air mild and clear, and we
enjoyed our walk much. When we arrived near the village,
where we do assemble to worship Ood after the manner of our
forefathers, we found there was to be no service that day. We
heard that a party of soldiers was there with orders to disperse
the congregation, should it assemble, and lay violent hands on
the clergyman. I fear they would have done both, but
Mr. Erskine had been advertised of the matter by a safe hand,
early in the morning, and had stationed scouts at different
points to warn his flock not to assemble. Truly these are hard
times : a stranger on the throne dictating to us the dress we
wear, even the method in which we must offer up our prayers
to heaven. My brother received the intelligence in silence, and
looked deeply concerned when we turned. He then said : —
^'I vow these severe enactments are enough to produce the
evil they so much dread."
" How much do they think we will bear ?" — I remarked.
^* I know not, but it is hard that a man may not worship after
his own fashion, but must do so by parliamentary rules. —
Fools that they are, they increase the evil they are trying to
cure ; and rather make (as in my own case) than gain the dis-
affected. There is a peaceable clergyman, one who has taken
oaths ; nay prayed for the king by name, liable to be siezed as
if guilty of a crime, because he adheres to the bishops by whom
he was ordained ; — and I, myself, who have shed my blood for
this king, prevented in my religious duties. If they strain the
chord so tightly, it must break."
" And in a happy hour — it cannot come too soon" — I replied.
" Dear child," replied my brother, " you speak rashly, not
knowing what you say ; could you but see the borrors of war,
you would ever pray from being involved in them* The hsrq.
Digitized by
Google
114 THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
of *45 is no more, and the blood I would freely baye shed in
HIS cause sball never be wasted in attempting to bring back a
man to rule over us, wbo cannot govern himself. It could be
no ligbt matter that could have induced Macnamara to take
leave of bim in these words : * By what crime Sir, can your
family have drawn down the wrath of beayen, since it has yisited
eyery branch of them through so many ages !'
'^ No my dear Martha, the hero of *45 I admire and respect
Prince Charles of '53 — I would not help to mount the
throne of his fathers.'*
"And does Lord D. judge thus severely his Prince?** I
inquired with an aching heart.
^* It is a subject we never allude to. Derwentwater is bound
to the Prince and his cause by ties of blood and vengeance.
The hour that restores to Charles Stuart his kingdom, restores
Charles RatclifTe to rank and wealth. To the present royal
fiimily, he owes nothing but vengeance : to the former gratitude.
The Guelpbs have been his merciless enemies : the Stuarts his
constant benefactors ; but look you, here he comes to give you
his own answer.*'
Lord D. then joined us, and together we walked back to
the mount. I asked if he had been more foitunate at Carbrechan
than we had been ; he said he had, and that he excited no little
attention ; or rather, he added, curiosity in the small Chapel,
for there* were not above twenty present, and the Drummonds
being absent, they seemed quite at a loss to discover whom he
could be, as they knew he could not be a guest at the castle.
I asked him if he had seen many on his way there, he said
several, but knew none. My grandmother was very wroth when
idle heard there had been no service, and she said to Lord D. :
** The church is in ruins, the state is in jars,
Ddusions, oppressions, and murderous wars.
We dauma weel say't, but we ken wha's to blame,
Therell never be peace till £ang Jamie comes hame.**
Lord D. smiled sadly and said :
" Oh there's naught frae ruin, my country to save,
But the keys o' kind heaven to open the grave.
That a' the noble martyrs, wha died for loyaltie.
May rise again and fight for their ain countrie."
After dinner, my grandmother asked Sir Richard if he had
shown Lord D. the view from the top of the tower, he said he
had not, but if Lord D. felt inclined to climb to the skies, he
would assist him. As we were leaving the room, she called
Lord D. to her and said: ^^Mark weel the different bearings
Digitized by
Google
THE DUBY OF MARTHA BETHUNfi BALIOL. 115
Charley, (for thus she ever terms him,) ye may never need it:
I pray heaven dear lad ye never may ; but it can do ye no harm,
and may be of use — can do is easily carried."
We then proceeded to climb the stair which leads to the top,
and our eyes getting accustomed to the darkness we proceeded
merrily, and without fear. I may truly say so, for so often have
I been up and down, that even the ladder has no terrors for me.
Lord D. complimented me on my bravery, but I did assure him I
was a great coward, and only not frightened here, being used from
infancy to ascend. When we got out on the top of the tower,
the view never, I thought, appeared more lovely. In the foi*e-
ground, were the fine old trees which are round the mount. To
the north, a chain of hills, behind which the sun was setting
in a flood of golden light, — to the right lay the river, broad atid
deep, and on the left the woods of the Deep-den-chase, the
foliage of which already showed traces of autumn.
Lord D. was enthusiastic in praise of its beauty, and my=
brother appeared gratified at hearing his place judiciously
praised. The evening was chilly, but we could not tear our-
selves from the view. My brother has a little awmrie on the
top, where the flags are kept, and where there is ever a supply
of tobacco, for since he has been in the wars abroad he smokes
much, having acquired the habit in Holland. He offered Lord
D. a pipe, but he declined it, and then Sir Richard retired to
one side, not to annoy me with the smoke, although, in truth, I
do not dislike it.
Lord D. and I walked up and down the battlements : we
talked not much : there is a silence that speaks : the words he
did say I shall not note down: they can never be forgotten.
" So fair sister," said Sir Richard, joining us, "have you at
last settled in what way, from which point the old tower may
most easily be assailed ; for the last ten minutes your eyes have
never been raised from the hall door; — before that, the oriel
wing attracted your attention, and as I have finished my fourth
pipe since you commenced the survey, I think it best to warn
you, that the shades of evening, as well as its dews, are rapidly
falling, and with your leave we will leave the Sally Port, and
North Bartizan till a future day."
I was very glad that the shades of evening were falling, for it
prevented my brother from seeing how his pleasantry dyed my-
cheeks with blushes. We then descended. The descent is
more perilous than the ascent, so Lord D. assured me, and there-
fore, he said, he behoved to assist me, more than I deemed
necessary. My brother laughed, and begged of him not to spoil,
his little Mattie by teaching her to be a fine lady with nerves :
and vowed that Madge Murray would run down the ladder as if
Digitized by
Google
116 THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
it were a stair : nay, if necessary, would not liesitate io jump it!
*^ Not presuming to censure Miss Murray, I cannot regret
that Miss Baliol is so yery different/' said Lord D. : and then,
in a voice that / only heard, he added : ** In my eyes, Miss
Baliol could not be improved by being otherwise than she is.''
Truly it is exceeding silly in me to note these things in my
book : perchance it may be the fashion of all gentlemen thus to
talk, and I, never seeing any but my brother, may give more
heed to these flattering words, than one who has seen more of
society.
When we came down, my grandmother asked Sir Richard if
he had pointed out the direction in which the different places lay
to Lord D. :
'^ No, good sooth," said he, '^ I did not. I consoled myself
with my pipe, and whilst the smoke curled around me, I thought
such is life : flesh is grass, so is tobacco, and both turn to
ashes, and our aspirations end in smoke. But Martha, who
knows them well, pointed them out to Lord D."
I had not done so, but he came to my assistance, and asked
Lady Lincluden where the Drummonds were : in her anxiety
to assure him they would be here on the 17th, she forgot the
];natter she had been discussing before. She then, as is her
custom, assembled all the servants; first, the younger ones
repeated their catechism, and then my brother read a sermon
aloud. I am ashamed to own, I gave it not the attention I
ought to have done ; for in despite of my resolutions, my thoughts
would revert to the top of the tower, and the sweet words Lord
p. there spoke to me : but I will not continue this subject, and
yet I fear I think on little else, for when I fell asleep his image
was the last before me.
September 15th. — ^It is some days since I have written in my
diary. Though unmarked, they have been very pleasant to me :
we have either walked or ridden together each day. My brother
has been trying the fishing : as Lord D. cares not for that sport,
we generally accompanied Sir Richard to the river side, and,
leaving him there after a little, explored the banks, and wan-
dered through the woods : but to day Lucy Graeme comes, and
she will join our rambles. He teUs me that Lucy is now of
exceeding beauty. I have not seen her since her return from
school ; but ere she went, she gave great promise. I asked
what style her beauty was. He replied : " fair and feminine,
as a woman should be." I long to see her. I wonder if I shall
like her as much as Madge, as much as I did when we were
young.
Lucy has come — ^truly she is very beautiful ; so delicately fetir,
with deep blue eyes, and a complexion like a rose. We were
Digitized by
Google
THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL. 117
in the pleasance when the coach drove up with her in it. My
brother hastened to meet her. Lord D. did not go. I lan to
welcome her, and found her the same dear girl I parted with
some two years ago. My grandmother folded her to her heart,
and then desired me to lead her to her room. As the dinner
hour was close at hand, I requested her to dispense with a grand
toilet J as we purposed going in the evening to the Devil's Chair,
to see the moon rise. She requested me to remain with her,
and soon was ready.
" Burdalane/' said the Lady Linduden to me, " how do you
purpose going to the rocks to night ? I dare say it is a matter
of four miles from this : do you walk }^
" No truly : we purpose riding, and Bingwood, my fosterer,
is to meet us at the crags ; he is the best cragsman in the
country, and will assist us.''
" Complimentary to Edward and me," said my . brother.
" Dear cousin," said Lucy to me, ** pray leave me behind. I
am such a wretched coward, I should only be a burden to the
party."
" Leave you, Lucy — ^nay, that I wont : if you don't go, I shall
not ; but, indeed, you need have no dread ; you shall ride old
Britamart, and it is so steady, it never shies, and so old it
cannot run away."
** Impossible," said Lucy : "indeed, I cannot ride. I'd sooner
walk."
" Walk !" exclaimed my brother: "never, whilst I have arms
to bear so fair a burden : you shall do neither — you shall sail
up. Then you will have only half a mile to walk ; and Martha
will meet us at the foot of the rocks, unless she prefers to row
in the same boat."
Willingly ! Thanks, cousin ! we both exclaimed : and
then -we hastened to prepare for the sail. We were soon
equipped and hastening to the little creek where the boat-house
is. The stream was against us, so they had to row up.
Ringwood was seated at the foot of the crags waiting us ; and,
after great exertion, we did sit in the chair. Lucy was very
frightened, and required the assistance of Sir Richard and
Ringwood ; and Sir Richard, who dearly loves a joke, told her
of an adventure he and Madge had here, by way of raising her
courage, and how they lost their way in the mist, and he
actually paused once or twice, ere he followed Madge, who
skipped from rock to rock and across the yawning chasms like
a young kid, till they reached a little cave where they rested till
the mist cleared away. But at last we did sit in the Devil's Chair.
I asked my brother why it was so called — ie knew not
" If Madge were here she could, or at least would tell you the
VOL. XII. K
Digitized by
Google
118 THE DIARY OP MARTHA BETHtTNE BALIOL.
why and the wherefore, but for the life of me I never can recol-
lect a legend. Do you know, Ringwood ?" turning to him.
" An it please ye, Sir Richard," replied he. " It3 no athe-
gither chancy to speak o' sic things here : there's the mune
rising abane the Witche's Cairn, and wha can tell what may be
rising wi her."
" Surely you are not afraid," said my brother.
" Na deil a fear hae I — gude forgive me for naming him here —
na, gin you and the leddies are no fleyed, I'm nae," replied he.
"No, Ringwood, we havenofear; tell us whatyou know," I said
The substance of the tale was this — Long, long ago, in a
cavern near the Devil's Chair, dwelt a pious old hermit, renowned
for his sanctity far and near. One of the neighbouring barons,
a rude and riotous man, did mightily oppress this poor hermit.
This Baron — so ran the story — had sold himself to the Evil One,
on condition, that for a certain number of years every wish of
his should be complied with : if that promise was broken, then
was the Baron free. Years rolled by — the Baron had every wish
gratified — he was powerful ; he was rich ; he was feared ; and,
look where he woald, he saw his own land stretched before him.
At last he was warned that the treaty was nigh over — three
more days and the enemy would carry him off; and then of
what avail all his rank, wecdth, or power ? Was not the meanest
of his serfs more to be envied than he — the lord of all around
him ? On the last night but two, the Evil One appeared — re-
minded him of the bargain, and how he had kept his faith :
cited up the number of wishes which had been promptly grati-
fied, and warned the Baron that in three nights be would return
for him. The Baron was in despair : now, when too late, the
horror of his situation came over him, and he felt how poor was
the gain compared to the loss. He thought seriously how little
time was left for repentance, still less foi reparation ; but some-
thing might still be done. At that time, the course of the river
was quite different from that it now is, and the peasants suffered
much from want of water ; the Baron therefore wished that, ere
the morrow, the bed of the river should be altered. Next morn-
ing his domestics awoke him with the astoimding news that the
river had altered its course to the present one ; and the Baron
knew that it was as he willed it. He then thought on the holy
man whom he had so cruelly oppressed, and determined to do
him a service. Near the place where the chair now is, there is
a deep hole where the water collects, and to this hole the poor
hermit had to repair when he wished for water : so the Baron
ordered a path to be cut in the rocks to the well, and a chair
made for the old man to rest his wearied limbs in, what time he
climbed the rocks to draw water.
Digitized by
Google
THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHONE BALIOL. 119
Now such was the sanctity of the holy hermit that the enemy
of mankind scarce dared approach the cave where he was, and had
the old man, as was his wont, continued most of the night counting
his beads, the Evil One durst not have ventured near him, and so,
the Lord of the Castle would have been saved by the prayers
of the poor old hermit. But the Baron now began to reap the
fruits of his evil deeds. He had forbid the peasantry to assist
the old hermit, and they, dreading his wrath, only . ventured by
stealth to do aught for him ; and having been without food or
water all the previous day, he had been occupied this day in
climbing the rocks to the well, and in wandering through the
woods in search of roots and pulse, which formed his meagre
diet ; — and, wearied out with these exertions, soon after mid-
night the old man laid himself down on his bed of leaves, and
slept peacefully though the enemy was near ; for his guardian
angel was more powerful, and kept watch over his slumbers.
Next day, a forester brought the Baron word of the changes;
and, trembling, he felt there was no hope, and bare-headed and
bare-footed he went, a humble penitent, to the old hermit to
beseech his forgiveness, and to implore his counsel. The old
hermit received him, as if he had never been wronged and
listened to his tale : he then told him to remain all the day in
prayer in his cell, at night to return to the Castle ; and when the
enemy appeared, to speak as he would instruct him.
The Baron did so, and at night returned to his Castle ; and,
the first time for many years, he took a rosary his mother had
given him when he was a child, which had long lain neglected and
uncared for in a cabinet, and hung it round his neck ; and seating
himself in his large chair, he quietly awaited the terrible visitor.
At length he knew he was in the presence of the Evil One !
" I have fulfilled your behests," said the awful figure ; " I
now come to claim the fulfilment of your bargain."
" Stay," said the Baron, ** I have yet one more to make."
" Haste, then, for time presses."
" Heretofore my every wish has been granted : this now is
ray last : — That ere I go with you to the place of torment I merit,
you undo all the evil I have done .?"
" Impossible ! in a moment, undo the evil done in a life of
unlimited power, of unbounded license and rapine !"
" Hence, then, foul fiend ! your power over me is at an end.
Hence, and know if thou canst not undo it, I may live to repent
it, — for by this I swear," and here the Baron raised the crucifix
to his lips, " by this I swear that the life over which you have
now no power, shall henceforth be devoted to repentance and
atonement."
Next day, the Baron was sought for in vain ; but on the table
k2
Digitized by
Google
120 THE DIARY OP MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
near his chair, was found a deed convejring his own lands to
holy Mother Church, and those which he had unjustly wrested
from his neighbours were restored to them or their heirs. Next
eTcning's sun set on two hermits in the cell : and soon after, a
goodly monastery stood where the Baroo's proud castle bad been.
The old hermit died there in peace, but the younger passed his
time in the cell, and lived but to help and succour the poor and
aged ; and when the first gallant band of warriors crossed the
seas to fight for the Holy City, this hermit also went, and was
heard of no more.
" Brayo ! Ringwood," cried my brother, when the youth had
finished. " Brayo Ringwood, you speak like a book-man ; now
how much of this story do you belieye ?**
^^ No muckle abane the half. Sir Richard : but ye sued hear
Miss Murray tell it. It gars my flesh creep to hear her — ^ye
wad think auld homie was stanniu glowrin at ye the wye she
looks at ye."
*^ Madge is flattered by the comparison, no doubt. Wrap up
now, ladies. Lucy, remember what Lord Chesterfield says : —
• Keep all cold from your chest,
There's already too much' —
and now, my Lo — ved fiiend, Master Edwardes, take care of
Martha whilst I assist Lucy."
"Ha Messieurs, en route — en route;" said Lord D., and,
taking my hand, he assisted me down. We were soon seated
in the boat, and whilst the bonny Lady Mune shone on us, we
sped gaily along, wind and steam favouring us. The moon-
beams glittered on the waters broken by the track of our pretty
boat, and our white sail caught the night breeze which sighed
as we passed. We requested Lord D. to sing to us ; his voice
is ever rich and melodious ; and as I now heard it, neyer did it
sound more lovely : he sang Sir C. Sedley's lyric : —
" Ah, Chloris, could I now but sit
As unconcerned as when
Your infant beauty could beget
No happiness, or pain.
When I this dawning did admire
And praised the coming day,
I little thought that rising fire
Would take my rest away.'*
My brother and Lucy were loud in their praises, but I could not
speak miiie. They were talking of music, and requesting
another song, when suddenly, I Ibiow not how it happened, a
fearful gust came down the mountain pass : the river, in one
instant, seemed coyered with foam.
Digitized by
Google
THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL. IQl
"Hard up !" shouted Lord D.; "down with the sail :" but
ere the order could be obeyed, the gust took us, and the next
moment the boat was capsized ! I remember distinctly strug-
gling in the water. I tried in vain to support myself : my wet
clothes clung to me and dragged me down — down — down. I
felt the waters closing over me. I thought of my poor grand-
mother ; of my dear brother. The words I had just heard sung
were ringing in my ears, and a thousand little incidents of the
childhood we had passed together and long since forgotten, in
that dreadful moment came fresh across my memory. I made a
final effort, and once more my head was above the water. I saw
some one approaching : " Save me, Charley !" I exclaimed, for
again I was a child, and he my champion and protector. It was
a final effort ; J was again sinking, gasping for breath, but still
conscious. And then I saw and heard and knew no more till I
opened my eyes, and found Lord Derwentwater kneeling beside
me, my head resting on his shoulder, my brother chafing my
hands, and Lucy Graeme more dead than alive, weeping beside
me.
" Cheer up ; there's a brave girl,'* said my brother : but I
could not cheer up, I felt so weak.
" Have you your flask ? " said Lord D. : my brother shook his
head.
** Here, Ringwood, run to the nearest cottage ; get whisky ;
blankets — ^anything — but make haste," cried my brother.
Ringwood returned speedily ; and after tasting the whisky,
we managed to walk to the cottage, where we found a blazing
fire, which did more to restore cheerfulness than aught else. So
getting some garments dried, and the loan of others, we were
soon equipped, and found that Lord D. had been harnessing a
horse Qjid cart to convey us home, which, I thank heaven, at last
we reached in safety. My dear grandmother's gratitude for our
preservation may be imagined. She ipade us all pack off to
bed instantly, and with her own hands made a posset for us to
keep out the cold. J was horrified to find that in his anxiety to
procure a cart for us, he, Lord D. I mean, had not changed his
clothes at the farm-house, but he laughed at my fears, and said
he felt so like a kelpie, that water never ha^^nied him. I could
not but laugh at a speech Ringwood made to my brother, when
we were safe at home.
** Eh ! Sir Richard, I'm thinking ye hae the wyte o' hies : ye
gard me tell that story about the Baron, and troth I'm thinking
changing the course o' the river is the only gude turn that auld
clootie ever did in his life, and the carle is ashamed o' it now,
an tries to sto^ the mou o' a them that speak aboot it."
I was soon in my bed, but I had disturbed dreapas and slept
Digitized by
Google
122 THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
little till very late, for my niind was wearied with all I had gone
through, and conjured up painful combinations of the events of
the last few days.
September 16. — " The stormy clouds did roar again.
The raging seas did rout,
And my luve and his bonnie ship
Turned widdershins about/'
These were the first words I heard on awaking to-day, and
and opening mine eyes I met those of dear Madge Murray.
" My little Martha," she said ; throwing her arms round me.
" Madge, dear Madge," I exclaimed ; returning her embrace.
" I got word of your adventure," she said, " exaggerated, of
course, but rest I could not, till I had galloped over and seen
you all ; and thank heaven you are all safe. I have been here
the last two hours chatting witb dear grannie ; and now it is so
late, past eleven, that I resolved to break your slumbers. I am
going to take your place now, and shall be deep in the mysteries
of soups and pasties ere I am ten minutes older ; so when you
want me you may seek for me in the still room," and so saying
she left the room.
I rose immediately and hurried through my toilet to make up
the time I h&.d lost. I found that Madge had done all, and
more than I could have done ; and she and the cook were dis-
puting whether a fitless cock, crappit heads, or oatmeal flummery,
would be the proper corner dish. I gave my wishes in favour
of a fitless cock.
We then proceeded to see that the chambers were properly
prepared for our guests. As we passed the blue room, Madge
said,
*' I must have one look at our hero. Lord Derwentwater ; his
son is out, so fear not to enter ihe enchanter's cave."
But I did fear, and hesitated till Madge, opening the door,
showed me that ihe room was empty, and then I took courage
and went in. We stood in silence a short space gazing at the
picture.
"Master Charley had best allow none to enter his chamber,
for they would be dull indeed if they did not perceive the like-
ness," said Madge. She then examined the picture more
minutely, and exclaimed, " Ha ! this is newly done, is it not ? " and,
pointing to a carved part of the frame, she read these words —
" Carolus Ratcliff, Comes Derwentwater
Decolatus, Die 8 Decembris, 1746."
*^Yes," I said, "I don't think it was there the other day : do
you know what it means ? "
Digitized by
Google
THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL. 123
"Too well," she replied: "it is part of the inscription that was
on his coffin."
"And who has written it here ?"
"Part is Richard's writing, the rest, I suppose, is his son's :" —
and then, her dark eyes flashing while she looked at the picture^
she added, "Fear not, the 8th of December is not forgotten; a
day of reckoning and vengeance may yet come for that and
many another bloody deed; — your son yet lives to avenge your
murder."
I shuddered whilst she spoke; for the gipsy's prophecy
flashed across my mind, "Oh Madge," I said, " don't talk of
vengeance ; think to whom vengeance belongeth."
"And would you have Charles Batclifi*kiss the hand that slew
his father ? " she inquired.
"No, surely, but . I know not what I wish — I think
if peace" .
"Hush, girlie, it is enough to make the picture step out of its
frame, to hear you name the possibility of peace between a
Derwentwater and the Usurper."
"Death is a fearful thing, Madge."
"And shamed life a hateful . Death fearful ? Yes, to
the coward and slave ; to the brave, never ! Did he think
death a fearful thing," she continued, looking at the picture,
"no!"
•There was glory on his forehead,
There was lustre in his eye ;
And he never went to battle
More proudly than to die.*
Do not even our enemies say of him, 'That, dressed in
scarlet faced with black velvet and trimmed with gold, a gold
laced waistcoat, and a white feather in his hat, he looked liker
to a gay bridegroom going to meet his bride, so debonair was
his demeanour, so gay and galliard his gallant bearing, rather
than a rebel traitor going to meet his just doom.' We, Martha,
— we know that a higher and a holier courage than the mere
animal carelessness to danger or death sustained him in his last
hour. And the brave old Balmerino, let us never forget his last
words : 'Perhaps some may think my behavioiu: too bold, but
remember that I now declare it is the effect of confidence in God,
and a good conscience, and 1 should dissemble if I showed signs
of fear.' Ours, Martha, was a high and holy cause, and of all
the eighty who were murdered in cold blood for it, it is allowed
that every one behaved with such firmness as gained the respect
and admiiation of all. To them, death was not a fearful thing ;
for could a long life of pleasure compare to the proud glory of
Digitized by
Google
124 THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
sealing with yoar heart's blood your devotion to your king and
country ? But whilst we are talking of dying, we forget that
your guests are still living ; and so come along, *up stairs, and
down stairs, and to mv lady's chamber :' " — and so we quitted the
room, I giving a last look to the picture as I left, the eyes of
which seemed to follow me ; and I sighed when I thought that
visions of peace were not likely to visit the son's mind, whilst
the picture of his murdered father was before him, and seem-
ingly ever watching him — perchance instigating him to revenge.
We met Lord D. in the corridor: he inquired tenderly
after my health. Madge questioned him where Harry was, he
told her be had gone with Sir Richard to shoot partridges : had
he been ?— No, he had remained at home with Lady Lincluden,
if he might presume so to term Mount Baliol, for it was many a
long and weary year since he had known a house of his own. This
speech set me a thinking. Years since he had known a home.
Homeless, restless, wandering over the wide world, — how sad
the history contained in these few words, " many a weary year since
I have had a home of my own," and I had never fully appreciated
the blessing of a homey till these few words revealed to me how
much I had, in that respect alone, that others pined for. He
took my hand, and, raising it to his lips, added, "And now I
wish for a home, only that you might grace it.** I know not
what I might have said, but at that instant Sir Biichard and
Harry appeared at one end of the corridor looking for Mad^e ;
and when we entered the drawing room, we found her there
seated with Lucy Graeme.
Harry was in great glee, he had hit every shot.
"And Madge," he said, "only think, Madge, Cousin Dick
twice missed, and if I had had my own gun I am sure I could
have done more, but the one I had tired me so : I wish I had
had my own ; but I hit every shot, indeed I did."
Madge began to banter my brother on his gallant conduct the
previous evening, in having saved us from drowning in the
Kelpie's Pot, which, to her certain knowledge, she affinnjed to be
nigli tfvo Jhtkoms deep.
"Two, Madge," said my brother, " two ! say six and you will
be nearer the mark. Why, I am two fe^homs deep myseli^ and
I swear I never touched the bottom of it, Ask littte Martha if
she does not think, and did not feel it fidl fiathoms five."
"Do not talk of it : I tremble yet when I think of the danger
we were in," I replied.
"And if Miss Murray be so determined," said Lord D., "to
rob us of the wreath of water lilies, which, I suppose^ U our
guerdon,
* By Thetis' tmsel-slippered feet.
And the songs of syrens sweet/
Digitized by
Google
THE DIABY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL. ^25
I swear I know not wbenoe axose the anxiety about us which
prompted her to ride across this morning to inquire after our
lives, which, she avers, were in no danger."
"You have me, there," said Madge laughing and half aside;
and then she said aloud, "my anxiety was to know whether you
and Cousin Dick would have the assurance to make heroes of
yourselves, for wading out of a pot six feet deep, and to se^
if he would actually attempt to impose on me, that he had done
somewhat."
" ril tell you, Madge, — my dukedom to a beggarly denier, —
tbe Kelpie's Pot is twenty feet deep if an inch. Harry is well
nigh two fathoms, if not over ; he shall wade across with a bat
on, and if the crown of the hat be not covered, aye, and some-
thing over, tbe best steed in my stable shall be yours: do you
say done ? "
In an instant Madge's expression altered, — Harry appeared
quite eager; but, with a face of dismay, she replied, "Heaven
forefend ! — no, Harry, I have already cost you too dear:" and
then, in her own gay tones, she replied, " I know the pot well,
and it is over twenty feet deep : I was nearly in it myself some
weeks ago. I had hooked a fish, if not auld kelpie himself, and
thought I should have a splendid run ; but if I was strong,
it was stronger, and then I stumbled and fell, and, determined
not to lose my rod, it was dragging both into the water, when,
luckily, Harry came to my assistance, and held my rod, when
anap ! went the top joint and off went fish and line. Old Peg
was passing at the time, and she consoled me by telling me that
it was lucky I had lost my lipe, or the kelpie would have had
me into the pot, and ne'er a ane ever thrived that was christened
in the water o' his hame, — don't look so dismayed, Lucy, Pej^
fainted that the doom only applies to those who, of their own
free will, disturbed him undc^r the translucent wave."
"Then we need have no fear," said Lord D., "our visit to his
serene kelpieship was not a voluntary one."
"Fox j»y part," said Madge, "1 attribute the disaster to your
conduct on Sunday ;" and, in a snuCBing vpice, she continued,
"my teethren, let us enlarge and improve on this matter, which
is eleaxly a device of the enemy, and shows the power be ha^
over the prancing Popish prelacy, now unhappily stalking in th^
noonday, under the forms of Richard Baliol, called, by the
profane. Sir Bichard, Charles Edwardes^ and Martha Bethune
Baliol, spinster, — let us consider firstly, that had they attended
the comfortable, cordial condemnation of me, HabakKuk Howl-
ingraoe, this would not have taken place : — secondly, that that
Moabitish young maiden, Madge Murray, was preserved from
this danger, in consequence of having been present w th9 last
Sabbath in our tabernacle, when I wrestled for her."
Digitized by
Google
126 THE DIAAY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
"Hush, Madge " said my grandmother, — ^'^Hush, Madge, and
respect the preacher for the sake of his calling."
"Ah, Grannie, had I known that you were near, I had not thus
laughed at your pet : — ^but commend me, for I actually listened
to him on Sunday. Knowing there would be no service in our
church, I strayed to the kirk;" and then, in a snuffling tone,
which, we could not fail to allow resembled Mr. Mackenzie's,
she said, "my brediren sing as follows —
' The Lord shall come and he shall not
Keep silence bit speak out.*
Upstarted the precentor, and quarered out, 'sing to the teen
o' mony musk:' he was from the far awa north by his accent,
and voice he had none ; — two men grunted and growled by way
of bass, three women squealed and squaled by way of treble,
and the whole reminded me of my favourite dish, bubble and
squeak."
My grandmother tried to look grave but did not succeed very
well, and we all laughed aloud.
" Miss Murray, as you seem to know every one, can you tell
me what became of the celebrated Mr, Af' Vicar V said my
Lord Derwentwaten
"Certainly ; he is still in Edinburgh," replied Madge.
"Celebrated for what?" inquired Lucy.
"For the originality of his prayers. This time eight years
ago, he was minister of St. Cuthbert's ; and, being protected by
the castle guns, he thought he ran no danger from our party, for
I suppose you are aware that I am an adherent of the Stuarts."
" As we all are," said Madge ; but you have been able to
prove it by deeda^ we by words only."
Lord D. bowed in acknowledgement, and continued, ** Though
the Prince had given orders that divine service should be as
usual, the ministers were .so terrified at the Highlanders that
only two would officiate : one was Mr. Hog, one of ourselves,
and the other Mr. M*Vicar, whose prayer ran in this style :
' Bless the King : Thou knowest what king I mean, and for this
man that is come among us to seek an earthly crown, we beseech
Thee in mercy to take him to Thyself and give him a crown of
glory.' The Prince laughed heartily when he heard it, and
declared that he was perfectly pleased with the petition."
" And were only two clergymen found who would perform
their duty ?" said Lucy.
" Only two ; the rest, frightened at the Highlanders, forsook
their flock and fled, — or certainly lay perdu for a season," replied
my lord.
"Alas for the brave spirit of the good old times; though even
Digitized by
Google
THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL. 127
then the black coats of Edinburgh were a little afraid. Where
was now the spirit which led the celebrated
^Mass David Williamson,
Chosen o' the twenty,
To run up the poopit stairs.
An' sing Killiecrankie,* "
said Madge, laughing.
"Oh Madge dawtie," said my grandmother, "have dune wi
these idle sangs, and come, like a gude bairn, and eat your
muncheon, or bonny Lucy Graeme will think that ye are clean de-
mentit."
We three girls were seated in the oriel room after luncheon,
when Lucy began asking me some questions I could ill answer
about Lord D. ; but Madge came to my assistance, and told
her he was a particular friend of hers^ (Madge), and that I
could tell little about him. Lucy says they liked him much at
the Knowe the two days he was there, he made himself so
agreeable : he had brought letters from a cousin of theirs,
Dr. Graeme, who resides in Paris : but Dr. G. had merely
said, that he was a young Englishman, and not a word who he
was.
"Oh," said Madge, "luckily /can tell you all about that.
His father was a man, and his mother was a woman, and
although Master Edwardes never boasts of his birth, I know
pretty well he is descended from Adam. And yet what matter
who he is, — it is more consequence what he is. I am sorry I
have not time to tell you that also; but there is a carriage
driving up the approach, and so exit Madge Murray."
" We shall meet again to-morrow, dear Madge," I said.
"Indeed I know not, and you will value me twice as much if
you have some trouble in getting me."
"You are worth the trouble, dear Madge, and if I could
obtain you I should not grudge it," said my brother in a low
voice.
"I knew not that you were there, coz.," she replied, blushing,
"and indeed 1 dance so vilely that I shall ill repay your pre-
ference."
" Come along, Harry, we shall have a smart ride to escape
that shower now coming over the hills ;" and, not perceiving my
brother's offered hand, she flung her arm round Harry, and left
the room, my brother accompanying them, whilst we proceeded
to the landing place to receive the guests, and presently he
returned with the Murrays of Kilmaine. The family consists
of Mrs. M., a son, and a daughter. The son is not good-look-
ing, but agreeable and of pleasant address: the daughter
appears to me to be proud and stiff.
Digitized by
Google
128 THE DIARY OF MARTfiA BETHUNE BALIOL.
This has been a day of disappoiotments. The Drummonds
cannot come, being detained in Edinburgh by the illness qf their
son. Then I had set my heart on Sir Richard losing his, to
pretty Lucy Graeme, and opening the ball with her, and instead
he has engaged Madge Murray, whose appearance is uncertain,
and has vowed not to dance till she comes, and lo ! his friend
Eilmaine has secured the hand of Lucy, and appears as much
struck by her beauty as I hoped my brother would be. She tells
me that she has known Kllmaine some time having met him at
Carbrechan, and she says she believes he admires Mary Drum-
mond. I do wonder if such really be her belief. Besides the
Murrays, we have Lord George Wemyss, Sir A. Primrose, the
Stirlings, the two Miss Hunters, the Kays, and the Douglasses,
and several more are expected to-morrow.
And to->morrow I shall be seventeen. How many changes
will have occurred ere this day next year, and I must own that
I long for some stirring scenes to vary the monotony of my
quiet life. i^
September 17. — My birth day! The sun shines brightly;
I accept it as an omen of a happy year. Some one knocks.
It was my dear brother Bichard, who came to be my first foot,
and to present me with a handsome gold watch and etui which
he has got all the way from London for me, also a beautiful lace
cap from Flanders : he had two, which he tells me he brought
from foreign parts for me. I accepted of one, but bid him keep
the other for his wife: — he laughed, and said that ere she appears
the fashion would be changed ; and if I wished it not, I might
present it to Madge or Lucy.
I shall give it Lucy, I said ; for Madge cares not for head
laces nor powder, but dresses in a fashion of her own, but
not in M^feishion. But now I must repair to my dear grand-
mother.
(To be continued. J
Digitized by
Google
129
REGISTER
or
NEW PUBLICATIONS, CORRESPONDENCE, AND EVIEM'S.
The Editor of the Catholic Magazine and Registeb desires diat his Corres-
pondents and Contributors may alone be held responsible for the opinions and
sentiments that each may express. But he invites our Venerable Clergy and all
Catholics to send him information on all matters of religious interest in their
MTeral neighboortioodi.
NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.
The Catholic School, No. \. August. Vol. II. Published hy the Catholic
Poor School Committee.
This little publication ought surely to fiad its way into the hands of every
Engflish Catholic interested in the education of our poon And yet we
grieve to read, amongst its notices to correspondents, the following renmrk :
*'We are informed that the Ctftholie School has been transUted into
German : are we guilty of vanity or presumption in wishing it were read in
English ?"
This is a reproof which ought to hie felt.
The number before us contains much statistical information on tbA
government grants and the grants from Privy Council hitherto made to bur
schools. These are put forth with authority. We have also a short account
of the method of teaching adopted by the Brothers of Christian Instruction,
and part of the Official Report of the Government Inspector of Catholic
Schools, who seems to entertain opinions peculiar to himself as to the
anxiety he alleges to be felt, by all the Catholic clergy and laky throughout
Europe, that the state should everywhere '* interfere in the extension and
difpusion of popular education :" stating that, in all the inspected English
Catholic Schools, the obligations of citizens are included amongst the very
highest cUss of religious duties,^' and that *' they aim at making good sub-
jects as well as good Christians." Are we to understand that our school-
system is to be that of a supplemental police ? — that, in the words of the
state catechism, it is to teach our children " to (H-der th^nselves lowly and
reverently to all their betters V*
We are surprised that the committee should have republished this report
vrithout comment : whicb may, however, be reserved with the conclusion of
the paper for a fixture number.
Unity and StabHiiy considered in respect to the Anglican Church. A SerMon
preached by the Rgc. A* Swmner, S.J., having reference to the Gorham
Controversy. Bums and Lambert.
As the talented preacher of this little discourse observes, the public begins
to tire of the Gorham question. It has not led to the results anticipated ;
and, in real fact, there is no appearance that it will affect any disruption of
moment in the Established Church. We cannot agree with Mr. Sumner
that the fall of the establishment, which he anticipates, would not be a sub-
ject of rejoicing to Catholics : because we feel that its wenlth and connexions
Digitized by
Google
130 IWKTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
are tbe prindpalbar to the greater diffasioa of oar boly relifnon : bat, as yet,
we see no symptom of the breaking up of the system^ooking upon it as a
fyitem of police, a political engine. Some conscientious and consistent
men virill fly from the contradictions which, to them, will prove its origin :
but the great mass of the people and An}(lican clergy " care for none of
these things," and will go on as before : but with increased zeal, as being in
fece of an avowed antagonist.
The sermon before us gives, however, an eloquent and concise history of
the controversy and of the relative position of the Catholic Church and of
the Anglican establishment, and maybe read and remembered with pleasure.
England with Reference to the l^fonastic Institute, An Essay upon the
ReMloratitm of Kjatholinly to that country in its full glory. By the Rev.
M, Seally^ CCC. Burns and Lambert.
This is an eloquent appeal to the people of England to restore the
monastic institutions of our country. The state of the poor ia Catholic
times is vividly contrasted with their present degradation : and a pleasing
picture is drawn of the interior of a monastery of the days of old. We are
told that the profits of the publication are to be given to the preservation of
the fourth Carmelite Church that has been solemnly consecrated in Ireland
*' since the accursed reformation." Rather a strong term that to English
ears ! It sounds much the same as would " the d d reformation."
Accursed and d— — d that so called reformation was and is ot heaven and of
all who understand it. But we should like for works of this class to circu-
late widely — to startle without giving offence.
[^Correspondents would much oblige us if they would send their eommunice-
iions earHer,"]
The following publications have been received, and, with others, will be
noticed next month : —
Discourse on the Popes. By Right Rev. Bishop GiUis.
WilhenCs Method of Singing,
St, Margaret of Scotland.
Newman's Lectures.
The Church and the World, By Bishop Hughes,
The Lamp.
CORRESPONDENCE.
Dr. Rookbr on the State of Prior Park.
To the Editor of the ** Catholic Magazine and Register,''
Sir. — It is very unusual for the President of a Seminary to address the
public through the medium of the daily press, and most certainly I should
not take such a step, if I did not feel myself imperatively called upon to do
so. But opinions have been entertained respecting the College of Prior
Park, most injurious to its stability and success, and I think myself bound
to contradict them. Involved as we have been in the most serious difficulties,
we might with some show of reason be supposed to neglect those committed
to our care ; but the charge, I believe, has been brought forward by those
who know nothing of the resolution and cheerfulness with which every
individual devoted himself to the preservation of the College. It has been
said that we were a few private individuals, vainly struggling to carry out a
speculation of their own, and therefore no ways entitled, except by their
evident success, to look for patronage or support of the public : yet there
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 181
was not one of tbose, who sacrificed his time and labour to the cause, who
did not feel within himself, that it was for religion alone, and her interests
that he was contending.
This conviction, perhaps, would not have been sufficient to support us, if
the Holy See had not so frequently and so emphatically expressed an ardent
wish for the preservation of the Seminary of the Western District, and made
use of extraordinary means for the purpose. Ist. — In the year 1847,
by appointing Commissioners to examine into the pecuniary Status of the
College, which they did most rigidly, and laid their report before the Sacred
Congregation of Propaganda; on which occasion it was decreed, tbat an
effort should be made to save the College, and collections for the purpose
should be raised throughout England. 2dly. — In the year 1848, by calling
upon all the Vic Appos. of Enj^land to meet upon this question, and send
each of them, separately, their deliberate opinion upon it : the result of which
was, that the Sacred Congregation renewed their former decree respecting
the collections to be made, and, moreover, called in Bishop Brown, of Wales,
to assist the Vic. Apos. of the District, in what to them appeared so important
a work. 3dly. — By frequent letters since written, urging individuals to
greater exertions, and more confidence in carrying into execution the earnest
wishes of the Holy See : and, lastly, when Alex. Raphael, Esq., M.P., had
come forward with such noble generosity, and relieved the College of much
of its embarrassment, by handsomely acknowledging the deed as a great
benefit to religion, and conferring on him the dignity of Knight of St.
Silvester.
All this is sufficient to prove that we are not acting as private individuals,
n<ir for private ends, but under the sanction of the Holy See, and for the
benefit of religion onl^r. Notwithstanding the repeated recommendations of
the Sacred Congregation de Prop. Fide, and the strong feehngs, expressed
by His Holiness himself, for the preservation of the College, our collection
was. from a variety of causes, not successful ; and consequently, we are stiD
subject to the greatest difficulties : nevertheless, with the sincerest gratitude
to those who have generously aided us, we shall still persevere in our efforts :
and have the fairest hopes that, by the blessing of Heaven, their charity will
be productive of invaluable blessings to future generations. I may be
allowed to express this hope so far as I can confide in human means, since I
have secured the assistance of the Rev. Dr. Logan, now Vice-President of
the College, and the Rev. J. B. Morris ; and am daily expecting to hear of
other assistants. Therefore, we have not only at command a sufficient force
to carry on the studies of the two Colleges of St. Peter and St. Paul with
vigour and success, but feel justified in enlarging our plan, so as to receive
into the Mansion, which is distinct from the Colleges, a number of young
men, who wish to prosecute their studies, after taking their degree at the
University of London, or revise their academical course, under the ablest
professors. To these, of course, greater liberty would be allowed, but none
would be admitted, on whom the most perfect reliance could not be placed,
that, without the stringency of college rules, they would conduct themselves
on all occasions with the most perfect propriety, as gentlemen and as
Christians. Every one acquainted with the College will be aware that we
have every facility for carrying out this project, and I hope the foregoing
statement will show that we are justified in undertaking it.
Since, however, the education of ecclesiastics is the principal end of the
establishment, our first care and greatest solicitude are devoted to that all-
important object. And if we seek to give a stimulus to the youthful mind,
we have chiefly in view those higher and more serious studies that must
afterwards engage their attention, in the pursuit of which we hope to provide
the Alumni with Professors as distinguished as those, who now preside over
Digitized by
Google
132 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
the schools of Classics and Philosophy. Neither need any apprehension be
entertained that, by carrying out the proposals before*mentioned, we shall
trench upon that discipliae and seclusion, so essential to those who are
preparing to serve the altar, and thus endanger the vocation of the young
ecclesiastic, and direct his thoughts and aspirations from their sacred pur-
pose.
We have abundant room for all < and are enabled to make such arrange-
ments as to keep the different classes of students as oomptetely by themselves
as if they were residing in different colleges. Thus, though our plan is thus
considerably enlarged, we trust that, by the increased number of Professors
and the extraordinary advantages afforded by the disposition of the buildings
and grounds, we shall do full justice to all, and render the College not
unworthy of the patronage and support to which we humbly aspire.
Thomas Rookbr, D.D.,
22nd August, 1850. President of Prior Park.
CORRESPONDENCE.
Hon. and Rbv. G. Spencer on the Conversion of England.
To the Editor of the *' Catholic Magazine and Register/'
Jesu Christi Passio.
Dear Sir, — In my last letter I said I should perhaps return again to the
subject of the children. I have wished to see all classes of persons enlisted
in the great cause, the great work of saving England ; but children I have
had particularly in view, and this not only for the sake of England, but for
their own sake. Is it not important for them that correct thoughts shoald
be instilled into their minds with regard to the value of the true faith, and
the important duty of gaining to it others who are astray? I submit
whether it is not almost necessary in our days, for the security of their own
faith, that thev should be ti ained up to a proper feeling of what it is to be
without it. They will naturally, when they come out into the world, be in
constant communication with Protestants, every one of whom, we may
depend upon it, the enemy of their souls will try to employ as an instrument
to pervert them, and to spoil either their faith or morals. It seems to me
that the only way to make them safe is to arm them with great chanty and
zeal for the conversion of these, their poor brethren ; and what a powerful
additional incentive will be thus furnished us with which to move them to
profit by our care and instructions. If I am right in the choice of the
three means, which I proposed in my last letter, for carrying out this work,
prayer, good example, and instruction, and we put these before our children
and stir their zeal, we can pres^s them, by this new great motive, to learn
to prav well, to become models of every virtue, and to be attentive scholars,
that they may learn their religion perfectly, and thus, in due time, be able
to give answers to objections, and to teach others. And what might not
one child, thus well trained, do for his country ? and if one could do so
much, what might not thousands? There is a case in ancient history
which shows powerfully what a child well trained may do. During the
wars between the two great rival powers, Rome and Carthage, there was a
Carthaginian boy, whose father used to take him to the altars of their gods,
and niake him swear an eternal hatred against Rome. That child wu
Hannibal, who, when grown to man's age, had learnt to beat all the
Roman armies, and, but for one false move, would have demolished Rome
herself. Oh ! why are not English Catholic boys trained up like Hannibal}
not indeed to hatred, but to love; trained, like him, to chensh one thought,
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 133
and only one ; to live for one purpose, and but one, exceptinpf always their
own salvcition ; that is, the salvation of their country. What a host of
heroes mi)(ht we thus prepare for the conflict, and now sure would the
victory bocome? What heroes have faith and charity produced in all
times! and why not now? I often have thought of a saint, called Simeon
the Sindoniie, from the sinf^le linen tunic which he always wore, whose
example we mif^ht thus see imitated with great success by many. He was
a hermit in the deserts of Syria, in the early ages of the Church, who,
moved by compassion for kouIs, left his hermitnge and went and sold him-
self as a slave to an infidel family. We may be sure his servitude was not
the most agreealde. Accustomed to a hermitage, as he was, he couM not
have heen much of a servant, and with his sm^le tunic, whicli he never
changed, he would not gain a distinguished place in the family ; and his
religion would gain him no favour at first , but all the contrary. 'Iliis,
however, was all to his mind. He went in search of sufferings, which he
might offer to God continually for those who inflicted them ; and he went
on bearing them and oflTering them, and praying and working, and astonish-
ing all by his patience and virtue, and sometimes saying a word in season,
till he saw the whole family converted and baptized. They were then
ready t ) give him all they had, but he had not come for that. He had
gained his point there, and went to another place, where he played the
same game, and then to a third; and having gained all three, in about
three years each, nine years in all, he iudged his apostolic days were past,
returned to his cell, and finished his course, as he began it, praising God,
and tasting and praying for himself and for all the world. I first thought
of_ St. Simeon the Sindonite as a saint to ])lace high in my calendar for
England when 1 was iireaching the crusade for England in Ireland, in
1842, and I said to myself, and said to others too, how grand a thing would
it be for the Irish reapers who come over to England in those vast troops
every summer, and for the Irish girls who come too to find poor places
and earn their poor wages in Protestant families, if all conld he fired up
with the spirit of this 8aint, and look not so much for the little bit of
money they get as for a harvest of souls. I do not flatter myself that my
few ivords eight years ago created many Sindonites among the boys and
lirirls of Ireland. Poor things 1 they wanted reminding, and I could not
go and remind them, and no one else cared to do it. They might hear
plenty about England, but not much of charity or compassion for our
miseries. Well, 1 fancy, perhaps, a day may yet come for Ireland to take
notice of the glories that are before her, if »he will take up Goo's work for
England ; but just now I am writing for the English hoys and girls, and I
want to see if any one will think of teaching them what they might do for
God and his Church, and for iheir own country too, if they wouli take up
the spirit of the saints of God's Church,. or tlie spirit even of the hero
patriots of Rome and Carthage. What they mi^ht do lor < 'od. the Church,
and their country, did I say? Oa ! do nut foiget to tell them what they
would be doing for themselves.
And now a word or two for Unvs whom I shall be pleased in doe time
to know how to call by a mure definite name. I will say, to begin, that
if we had many suih as he seems to be, we might do something to the
purpose. We want something of an army, hut so long as we can see hut
one Untts here and another Unwt there, who shows a sjiirit for the cause,
and of these hardly one who will yet make bold to give his name, what ran
we do? We should make but a sorrj figure if we took ihe field. Now,
for myself. I have made up my mind to making ihis sorry figure; I have
been preaching the crusade for twelve years nearly, and it is good for me
that I may be told : Well, did not we say so ? it will all end in nothing
VOL. XII. L
Digitized by
Google
184 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
Bat in the matter before us now I have others to consider. I have already
had my thouj^hts in the direction that Unus points out in this last inter-
estinjf letter. I have tliuu^bt of secular confraternities in connexiou with
our Congregation of the Passion, which might serve as rallying points for
those who would devote themselves as soldiers of the great army which,
I sometimes hope, will at last be raised to f ght with spiritual weapons, and
conquer England for the Church of God. But this was to be no new
foundation of mine. There are already Confraternities of the Passion in
Italy, tvhich are devoted to various good objects, and work very well in
connexion with our body; and one of dear Father Dominic's last favourite
wishes was to see them established in this country. The only new featnre
which I thoU)<ht of adding to hia idea was, that in addition to their other
objects, or, if it were approved by our superiors, as their principal object,
they should be devoted to the conversion of England, as I have said ; and,
moreover, I did not think of t^iis as something suitable to the object because
of my being a Passionist myself. No ; there is another much more wnrtby
reason to show the congruity of this proposition. . The Venerable Father
Paul of the Cross, founder of our congregation, was most wondrously
devoted to England during- fifty years of his life. He never could have
known an Englishman by sight, but he was always thinking of England,
speaking of England, praying for England, and he is the only one of the
distinguished servants of God who la recorded to have had such a special
and engrossing attachment to this object. On this account I conceived
that if Catholics of England would at last take up the object in earnest,
a nucleus for the movement might with propriety be formed thus. But
although, as I w^s saying above, it matters not that any project of mine
should come to nothing, our superiors at Rome might not think it right
that a move like this should be attempted with a probability of its proving
a failure ; and though, I trust, we shall begin to be in earnest in time, I
question whether at present there are such signs of earnestness among us
as to give much hope of its succeeding, so I fancy we must yet wait a
while and see what will come I
I am> dear Sir« your faithful Servant in Christ,
Ignatius or St. Paui«, PassionUt,
Convent of Mercy^ Sunderland, Auguti IZth^ 1850.
ECCLESIASTICAL INTELLIGENCE.
Db. Wiseman and the London District. — ^Nothing more positive
is as yet known, as to the elevation of Dr. Wiseman to the Cardinalate, or
as to his Successor to the London Vicariate. His Lordship is on his journey
to Rome, where he moII doubtless continue ; if, ati seems to be understood, the
new dignity be conferred upon him. He will there be the channel through
which all communications between England and the Holy See, whether on
the part of individuals, of the Secular Clergy or the Vicars Apostolic, must
pass. Accustomed, as he is, toi^e atmosphere and to the habits of diplomacy
of the Roman Court, he will be able to represtot every matter that may come
before lum in its true light, and to advance the cause of religion in this
country, without fear wr favour, — ^without object of personal ambition,
without personal jealousies, predilection or aversions. Such a Minister of
English Catholicism at: the Court of Rome, would do incalculable good.
Rumour is, of course^ busy in naming a successor to Dr. Wiseman in the
London Di^riot. Dr. Cdx has been much spoken of; Mon signer Brindle,
who was before pressed upon the Holy See, by the unitcki voice of the Vicars
Apostolic, . and unaccountabfy superseded, is, by many, looked upon as the
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 185
fature Bishop or Archbishop ; while the name of Dr. Gillis has been circu-
lated as that of the prelate who is to assume the onerous charge. We will
only express a prayer that the choice of the Holy See may fall upon a priest
acquainted with England, and with missionary duties in England ; upon
one who may practically and personally know the feelings of parties in
England, the requirements of the age, the aspirations of hope, the arawbacka
cf necessity : upon one who, advancing onwards to the utmost limits that
prudence may warrant, will remember that this is still a missionary country,
and will husband our cesources of every kind so as to be able to put them
forward at special times, when and where they may do the greatest good to
the greatest number : — ^upon one who shall be a man of business, acquainted
with the business that is to be done, in England. The talents of a preacher,
a controversialist or a writer, are overlaid by the cares of an English vicariate*
Tbb Late Lord Pbt&b — We regret that our limited space does not
allow us to insert the full details that have been supplied to us of the funeral
of this .lamented nobleman. It was, we are told, '* strictly private :" but
six mourning coaches and four conveyed the members of the family of the
deceased; and between three and four thousand persons assembled ta
witness the procession and to pay the tribute of their respect and sympathy*
The body was not interred with the ancestral dead of the family : but in a
large new vault in the Catholic Chapel of Brentwood, where it was received
by a large body of the clergy. The Rev. R. Lythgoe preached an eloquent
funeral oration.
. Mb. Newman and the Pope. — His Holiness the Pope, to express his
sense of Mr. Newman's services in the cause of theology, has conferred on
bim the degree of Doctor in Divinity by diploma. — Times,
The association for the propagation of the Roman Catholic faith, received
for the month to the 1st July, in Ireland, £202*
In consideration of the large and seasonable aid extended to tho College
of Prior Park, by Alexander Raphael, Esq., M.P. for St. Albania, the Pope
has been pleased to confer on the honourable gentleman the Grand Cross of
the Order of St. Sylvester.
On Tuesday evening the Right Rev. Dr. Wiseman held a levee at hie
Episcopal residence in Golden-square. Bishops Wareing^ Morris, and
Naker (whose see is near Mount Lebanon), the Earl of Fingall« the Right
Hon. R. L. Shell, M.P., Mr. R. M. Bellovv» M.P., Mr. Clarkson Stanfield,
R.A., Mr. C. P. Cooper, Q.C., and a very numerous body of the Roman
Catholic Clergy and laity attended. The Earl of Arundel and Surrey waa
absent on account of illness ; and in the course of the evening Mr. T.
Barnewall, (the Chairman), accompanied by a numerous deputation, pre-
sented the address (agreed upon that morning at the Thatched-house Tavern)
to Dr. Wiseman, to which his Lordship, who was deeply affected, made a
very eloquent reply. His Lordship will forthwith proceed to Rome to attend
the Con«$i8tory, which, we are informed^ is likely to be held about tbe.IOth
of September. — Times.
At Northampton, on. Sunday last, before the High Mass, a partial induU
gence was published by command of the Lord Bishop, which was recently
granted by his Holiness Pope Pius IX., in an autograph rescript on occasion
of a ])fivate audience. The indnlgence: is of aoo days to all the faithful,
who shall devoutly pray for the Cunversion of England "ut spfcialiter", .by
saying a ** Hail Mary."
Sentence of Penance. — In the Consistory Court of the diocese of
Ripon an action for libel and slander was last week brought by Miss C«
Mary Luis Fernandez, the second daughter of ,Mr. J. L..Fernandez,jof
Sandal, near Wakefield, against Mr. Joseph Horner, the elder, of Wakefield,
com miller> and a member of ihe town council of that borough, for certain
Digitized by
Google
136 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
slanderous reports which had been circulated by the defendant, tending; to
prejudice the character and reputation of the plaintiff, and reflectiog upon
her virtue. The Chancellor (the Rev. John Headlam) decided thai the
defendant *' ou^ht to be duly and canonically corrected and punished," and
that he be compelled ** to perform a salutary and suitable penance, according
to his dement, for his excess aforesaid." Tiie act r.f peuiince enjoined was
performed by the defendant on the 25th of August, thousands attending out-
side the church, cheering and hofiting.
Institution op the Rev. G. C. Gormam. — At the termination of the
ordinary business in the Prero;iative Court yesterday (6».h Aug.) the Rev. G.
C. Gorham was introduce.! to Sir H.J. Fust. Having signed the articles
and taken the customary oaths. Sir Li. J. Fust addressed Mr. Gorham to the
following eifect : —
*• We, Sir Herbert Jenner Fust, Knight, Doctor of Laws, and Official
Principal of the Arches Court of Canterbury, lawfully constiti!ted. do. hy
virtue of the auth )rity to us committed, admit you, the Rev. George Cor-
nelius Gorham, clerk, B. D., to the Vicarage of Brampf(»rd Speke, in the
c >unty of D.'von, diocese of Exeter, and province (»f Canterbury ; we do give
you true, lawful and canonical msiitution, and do invest you with all the
rights and appurtenances thereunto belnngini;, and do commit you the care
of the souls of the parishioners of the said parish.'
Mr. G >rham then bowed to the learned judge and retired, accompanied
by his Y>roctor, Mr. Bowdler. The proceeding was quite unexpected, and
when Mr. Gorham was introduced very few persons were present, but in-
formation of the fact spread with gre;it rapidity, and a large number of tbe
practitioners at Doctors'-Commons entered the court before the completion
of the institution. — '/'imps.
The Rev. G. C. Gorham. [from 'Bentley's Miscellany.*] — Mr. Gorham
is a native of St. Neot's, in HuntingdonKhire, and in 1805 entered Queen's
Collet^e, C..m))ridge, of which the late Dr. Mihier, Dean of Carlisle, was then
president. During his usual academical course, Mr Gorham oiitained tbe
mathematical, classical and theological prizes, which that society hail to
bestow on the students and bachelors of arts of the college. He obtained
also two university prizes. While yet an undergraduate in 1808. tlie Norris^ian
gold medal was awarded to him for an ** Essay on Public Worship." He
took his degree of B.A. in January, 1809t on which occasion he was third
wrangler of his year, the present Baron Alderson being the senior wrangler.
On the contest for Dr. Smith's two mathematical prizes, the examination for
which take place immediately after the conclusion of the bestowment of the
degrees on the bachelors of arts, he had the distinction of dividing the
second prize with second wrangler, Mr. Standley, afterwards Vicar of
Southoe. This is, we believe the only instance of that prize having been
divided.
Immediately after this, Mr. Gorham quitted Cambridge for a year and a
half, and resided at Edinburgh as the companion of a nobleman of his own
standing and university, on the recommendation of Dean Wilmer and the
late Vi^illiam Wilberforce. During this ))eriod (in 18 IC) he was fellow of
Queen's Cidlege, and in 1811 obtained a divinity prize, given annually to a
bachelor of arts of that society. In 1811 he was ordained deacon and in
1813 priest by Dr. Dampier, Bishop of Ely. On the former of these
occasions the bishop instituted a private examination and threatened to
withhold ordination from him on the very subject of baptismal regeneration
on which the Bishop of Exeter thirty-seven years afterwards, refused him
institution. The young deacon stood firm to his principles, and the worthy
bishop, wiser or more tolerant than his brother prelate, had the grace to give
way. Mr. Gorham resided in Queen's College for three years after his ordi*
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 137
nation, talcing private pupils and exercising his ministry in parishes in the
neifi^hbourhood of Cambridge.
In 1814, he left college for the curacy of Beckenham in Kent. From 1818
to 1827, he was curate of the parish of Clapham, Surrey, under the late Dr.
Dealtry. In the latter year, he married Jane, the second daughter of the
Rev. John Martyn, and grand -daughter to the Rev. Thomas Martyn, late
Rej<ius Professor of Botany in the University of Cambridge, of whom and of
whose father, also a very eminent botanist, Mr. Gorham published very
interesting and much desiderated memoirs in 1830. After having served
several curacies in difiPerent dii)cese8, Mr. Gorham was presented in 1846, by
Lord Chancellor Lyndhurst, to the vicarage of St. Just in Penwith, Corn-
wall, and diocese of Exeter, to *vhich he was instituted in February of that
year, by the present bishop, and which living he still holds, the benefice
being nearly £500 a year. In November 1847, he was presented by the late
Cliancellor, Lord Cottenham, to tlie smaller vicarage of Bram|)ford Speke,
near Exeter reiurned as worth £216 a-year, the exchange l)einif accepted (as
it was stated in the late pleadings) as being more ai^reeable to Mr. Gorham,
that (gentleman wishing for a less onerous charf^e in the decline of life, and
as afiPording greater facilities for the education of his children.
The Gorham Case. — The Puseyites are in a ridiculous minority in the
Chuich, ii sp'te of the noise they contrive to make in the world. The
** Church and State Ouzette" saj's— '• It is believed that the following prelates
have declared their approval of the decision of the Judicial Committee of
Privy Council in the late Gorham Case :— The Archbishops of Canterbury,
York and Dublm, the Bishops of Durham, Peterborough, Ely, Hereford,
Lichfield, Chester, St- Asaph, St David's, Worcester, Norwich, and Man-
chester, as not affecting the doctrine of the Church. The Bishops of
S'disbury, Gloucester and Ripnn, have returriesl unambiguous replies to the
Tractarian addresses. The Bishop of Bangor dissents from the judgment.
The Bishop of Rochester claims for it 'legal respect.' The Bishops of
Kxeter, Bath, Loii<lon, and Oxford, are hostile. The BisVops of Lincoln,
Carlisle, Winchester, Chichester, Landaff and Sodor and Man, are not yet
known to have expressed themselves upon the subject. The two Universities
of Oxf .rd and Cambridge have each declined entering into the controversy;
but about one-fourth ol the members of Convocation of the first-mentioned
have separately addressed the Archbishop of Canterbury against the decision.
This address is signed by two only mit of the twenty-four heads of colleges
and halls, and six professors only — all of the Tractarian party, viz., Professors
Pusey. Hussey, Reay, Earle, Kenyon and Cooke, and includes the names of
Judge Coleridge and the well known Archdeacons Thorpe, Wilberforce, and
tn*o Scotch bisiiops, who, notwithstanding their secession from the English
Church, retain their names on the University register as members. The
University of Cambridge has not moved. From a Summary of the results
of the agitation which has reached us, it would appear that the t<ital number
of clerical dissentients from the judgment throughout England does not e.x-
ceed 2,000 out of I5/)00, and the number of laity who have come forward is
insignificant. After the failure of the last efiPort at St. Martin's Hal, which
was remarkable for the absence of Mr. Gladstone, M.P., and others whose
presence or absence on such occasions is regarded as indicative of the proba-
bility of success or the reverse, we may dismiss the agitation as something
beyond a Denison power to resuscitate."
Digitized by
Google
188 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
PARLIAMENTARY RECORD.
JULY 31.— SUNDAY TRADING BILL.
The Earl of Arundkl and Surrby observed, that his views respectins
the observance of the Sunday difPered very materially from those entertainea
by a ^eat majority of members of that houtie, and also by the f^reat majority
of those for whom Parliament lej(islated. He did not regard the observance
of the Sunday as commanded by Divine authority. He regarded the
observance of Sunday, and of other boiydays, as a precept of the Church.
(Hear, hear.) He regarded those holydays as set aside by the precept of
the Church, to be as strictly observed as the Sunday ; and he considered
that the Church had the power, if it thought fit so to do, to alter the
observance of the Sunday to Tuesday, Wednesday, or any other day of the
week. If the observance of the Sunday were established by Divine authority,
the Church would have no }>ower to make such an alteration. In Rome,
in Sardinia, and in many of the German Catholio states, the shops were as
generally closed on the Sunday as they were in any part of London, while
m some of the German Protestant states the shops were as generally open
on that day as they were in Paris. He could not sympathise on the one
hand with those who wished to have the Sunday desecrated, as he con-
sidered, or, on the other hand, with those who desired to have it observed
with a rigidness he thought unncessary, and therefore he would not vote
upon the principle of this measure.
AUGUST 1. — BARON ROTHSCHILD.
The Attornsy-General: Before proceeding to the next order of the
day, perhaps the house will permit me to give notice that I ahall on Monday
next move the two following resolutions : —
1. *' That the Baron Lionel de Rothschild is not entitled to vote in this
house or to sit in this house during any debate, until he shall have taken
the oath of abjuration in the form appointed by law."
After that has been disposed of I propose to move —
2. ** That this house will, on the earliest opportunity in the next session of
Parliament, take into its serious consideration the form of the oaih of
abjuration, with a view to relive her Majesty's subjects professing the Jewish
religion."
The reading of these resolutions, and more especially the latter, was
accompanied by a storm of "oh"s from honourable members.
AUGUST 6. — ROMAN CATHOLIC PRELATES.
Sir R. Inglis said that a certain foreign potentate having appointed to
certain offices certain ) ersons in her Majesty's dominions abroad, a circular
had been issued from the Colonial Office, which, it appeared, would have
the effect of giving those persons precedence over other persons appointed
to offices by her Majesty. He wished to know whether it was intended to
keep this circular in force ?
Mr. Ha WES said that directions had been issued to the Colonial authorities
that the Roman Catholic prelates in tnose colonies should have their titles
recognised ; but those directions included no precedence to be given to the
parties.
Digitized by
Google
UONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 139
FOREIGN.
Rome, Aug. 8th. — St. Peter's, the Pope, and "your own correspondent/'
are the only notabilities at present in Rome : St, Peter'^s, because like St.
Paul's, it never leaves town; tne Pope, because he will not move to Castel
Gon(lolfo'bef<»re the approaching consistory ; and " your own," becaa;>e the
post of duty is the phice of honour. How far flesh and blood can bear a
month of August in the Vatican and the Corso is a question yet to be deter-
mined ; but, if 1 am to judge by the bilious and awfully pale faces of the
people condemned by poverty or other circumstances to remain, his Holmess
and the humble personage who has the care of your correspondent will,
when the shooting season begVns, have little reason tp congratulate them-
selves on their appearance. The weather is certainly most unpropitious, but
the malatia has as yet done but little mischief, and the season is, I hear^
anything but sickly ; so that, putting tolerably good health into the one
scale, and a cadaverous aspect only in tlie other, the balance of good is in our
favour, and the Holy Father and his unworthy son may have reason to be
satisfied. I met the Pope and his retinue of Noble Guards, Cardinals, and
Monsignores, the night before last, on the Civita Vecchia road, about half-
a-league distant from St. Peter's. He had left his carriage, and, attended
by a few of his personal friends, was on foot, enjoying the freshness of a
beautiful evening, and admirng the last rays of the setting sun. Just as he
had reached a hill on which the glory of the ^* god of dav" still lingered, a
convoy of five carriages coming from the coast appeared ; and one of the
persons in the leading carriage, exclaiming in Italian and French, "On foot,
ladies and gentlemen ! " the whole of the passengers, at least forty in number,
some French, some English, some American, some Spanish, and the rest
Italian, jumpt out and fell on their knees just as the Supreme Pontiff joined
them. The Pope was dressed in a flowing white robe, with a wide crimson
hat, and in the midst of the cardinals with their gorgeous costume presented
a most picturesque object. The people kissed his feet and his fingers, each
receiving a word of devout consolation, and when that ceremony with all was
accomplished, Pio Nono, raising his hands to heaven, said with his fine
melodious voice, — *' Siamo contentissitei h dare k voi, appena arrivata sotto
Fombra della cupola di S. Pietro, la benedi^one in nome dell' omnipotente
Iddio de Fedeli." The Holy Father then passed on, the group remaining
on their knees until he was out of sight, and then only all arose^the ladies
weeping, and the men imploring blessings on his sainted head. I chanced
to know some of the party, and in particular more than one person who had
been the decided enemy of the Church, but the whole were converted on the
spot, and all declared they were ready to shed their blood in the service of the
the Supreme Pontiff. As for myself, not wishing to attract attention, I had
retired to a quiet corner on the roadside, but I was struck w^th awe, and
admiration at the impreasive spectacle, and cold as one becomes to sceoic
efiects by long experience of the realities of life I can never forget this acene^''
It is to be deplored that the Papal government will now take advantage of
this state of public opinion to establish such monetary and administrative
reforms as circumstances imperatively demand. With French bayonets
here, and Austrian at Bologna, full security is obtained; but if these
bayonets were removed to-morrow, or if they be removed 20 years hence,
another revolution must take place, unless in the meantime sound principles
be adopted, and the only security which sovereigns can have — that of public
opinion — be wisely invoked. In my humble opinion there are no parts of.
Europe which have so many resources as Tuscany and the Papal Statea» or
where the mischiefs of years of misrule can be so easily repaired; it only
xequires the wiU to dare and the will to do to make all right, and a man of
Digitized by
Google
140 MONTHLY INtELLIGENCE.
ordinary firmness and capacity is all that k at present demanded. The Papal
throne, above all others, is that which is the most easily supported. It has
the basis which Archimedes required to move the Rlobe, and the fact
cannot be overlooked, that respect to the Madonna and all the forms which
Protestant England calls superstition were stricily adhered to during; ibe
worst days of the revolution, and are even now upheld with the same fidelity
that they were in the last century. Infidelity has no doubt taken the place
of religion in many minds, but the mass of the people remain the same, and
are likely, whether they be right or wrong in your opinion, to remain so.
That fact, added to the liberty of action insured by the Austrian and French
armies of occupation, should convince the Pope that now or never a wise
and strong Administration should be established, and the first stones laid of
that constitutional fabric, by which, sooner or later, all parts of the Peninsula
must be ruled. I have reason to believe that sentiments like these are
entertained in high quarters at Rome, and I begin to see the dawn of good
government through the mist of the present feeble and corrupt administra-
tion.— Times,
Death op Louis Puillippe. — ^The ex- King of the French expired at
Claremont, on tlie 26th inst., after dictating the conclusion of his memoirs
and receivmg all the sacraments of the Church. The **GIobe" says, that the
funeral will take place at the cathedral of St. George ; and then sagely
adds, *'on Sunday next, in all the Catholic churches in London, there will
be high mass."
BIRTHS.
On the 23rd of August, at No. 25, Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, the lady of
Mr. Alfred Rymbr, of a daughter.
On the 24th of August, at North Hyde, the lady of Mr. James Scoles,
of a son.
MARRIAGES.
On the 23rd of July, at the Catholic Church, Kemerton, by the Rev.
P. A. Ridgway, Mr. Jambs F. Hbaly, Cheltenham, to Anne, youngest
daughter of the late Charles Tidmarsh, Esq., of Kemerton, Gloucestershire.
On the 8th of August, at the Catholic Church, and afterwards at the
Parish Church, Pontefract, T. H. Pedlby, Esq., of that place, to Miss
Gully, daughter of John Gully, Esq., of Ackworth Park.
DEATHS.
On the I4th of July, at St. John's, Newfoundland, the Right Rev.
Dr. Fleming, Catholic Bishop of Newfoundland.
On the 22nd of July, Sister Maky Austin Cdddon, ageJ 33,
Superioress of the Convent of Sisters of Mercy, at Wolverhampton, whilst
staying at the Handsworth Convent for the berfefit of .her health.
On the 31 St. of July, Miss Byrne, of Cabinteely. '^^
On the 2nd of August, the Rev William Brown, of Great Crosby,
near Liverpool, in which Mission he had laboured assiduously for 25 years.
On the 11th of August, at Great Eccleston, the Right Rev. Dr.
Sharples, Coa<ljutor Bishop of the Lancashire District.
At Kingstown, the Rev. Joseph Behan, Professor of Lopric, at
Maynooth.
On the 12th of August, at Penzance, Mary Anne, daughter of Samuel
Cox, Esq., M.D. of Eaton Bishop, in the County of Hereford.
Digitized by
Google
THE CATHOLIC
MAGAZINE AND REGISTER.
No. LXVIII. October, 1850. Vol. XII.
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
The Right Rev. Peter Augdstine Baines, Bishop of
SiGA, Vicar Apostolic in the Western District of
England, &c.
Continuation Cfr<ym page 99) of the History of the Pastoral,
addressed, in an unpublished letter, by his Lordship to the
Cardinal Prefect of Propaganda, who had summoned him
to Rome to meet the charges of the " English Converts.^'*
** I SHALL now proceed to the charges brought against the
Pastoral, taking them in the numerical order in which they
occur.*
" No. L — This number, as well as several others, insinuates,
if it does not positively assert, that these charges are made by
the ^ new converts of England.'
" Now, is this true ? Most certainly not. I have already
informed your Eminence, that the number of converts made iii
the Western District, during the year 1839, amounted to 221,
v^hich number bears the proportion of 1 to 1 13, with reference
to the whole Catholic population of the district. Suppose, then,
that the number of converts in the other districts bears as large
a proportion to the number of Catholics as in mine ; and sup-
pose the total number of Catholics in England to amount to
600,000, then the total number of converts in one year ought to
be 5309. Suppose, also, that by the term ^ new converts^ are
meant the converts of the last five years, then will their number
amount to 26,545. These, then, are the ^novelli converting the
new converts of England. And have these persons made or
authorized the charges presented to your Eminence against my
Pastoral ? Not one in a hundred, if left to his own judgment^
would have done it — not one in a thousand has done it.
^* I have been informed that the person who sent the copy of
* These charges are given at length in the September Number of the
Magazine.
VOL. XII. • M
Digitized by
Google
143 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
the Pastoral to Borne, which fell into the hands of the Sacred
Congregation, was Henry Bagshaw, Esq. Now, I am inti-
mately acquainted with Mr. Bagshaw, and I feel confident that
he is as incapable of preferring against me the charges, which
have been grounded upon the Pastoral, as he is unlike the
characters described in it.
" If, then, he is the only complainant on the part of the * new
converts of England,' it will follow, that this long list of awful
charges does not come from these converts at all, but has been
concocted in Rome, by some individuals, whose activity in this
affair is well known, and whose want of sympathy towards me
and my concerns admits of no doubt.
" That other converts, besides Mr. Bagshaw, may have sent
complaints, is no more dian I expected : but 1 feel quite confi-
dent that not one of them ever imagined the precise charges
which have been presented to the Sacred Congregation. These
charges bear upon their front the evidence of an author, who
understands the art of framing his accusations in a way that will
produce the greatest efiect, in this particular place and at this
particular moment. This is not the work of the new converts
of England.
" No. 2. — The converts insinuate that the author of the Pas-
toral did not understand St. Paul, when he speaks of *old wives'
fables.' They are mistaken. He understood the apostle per-
fectly. Who are these learned converts, who understand the
Scriptures better than their bishop ? This sounds rather Pro-
testant. And why was the important * et ceteray omitted by
them in their translation ? Was this done to give greater
plausibility to their charge ?
" No. 3. — I do not know what is meant to be complained of
in this number, unless it be that the author of the Pastoral
should have had the presumption to compare the converts of
England with those of St. Paul !
" No. 4. — In this number, the converts are made to complain
that, whilst I call them * perverse converts,' I will not allow them
to call Protestants, ad libitum^ * heretics.^ My reason is ex-
plained in the Pastoral itself (sec. 3).
" No. 5. — This is a curious article. The converts deny that
ihey have ever used harsh language towards Protestants. I
never said they had. I asserted that some of our controvertisis
had begun to do so ; but I did not say that these controveitists
were converts. (Pastoral, sec. 3).
" As a proof that they have not used such language, the con-
verts assert that they have made many converts, and are upon
good terms vrith their Protestant brethren. They allow, then,
Siat the use of harsh language would prevent their making con-
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 143
yertSy and being upon good terms with Protestants. This is
just what I maintain, and therefore I am glad to have the con-
verts with me in disapproving of the conduct of those Catliolics,
whoever they may be, who write controversy in a style of asperity
and harshness.
" The converts go on to say, that ^ Dr. Baines had no better
motive for what he wrote than to flatter the Protestants, whom
he puts almost on a level with Catholics, whilst he reserves all
bile for the converts.' This is an uncharitable charge. I am
not given to flattering any body, nor can I understand what I
should gain by flattering Protestants in particular. Were I te
flatter my superiors, or those who could reward me for my
adulation, my conduct, if not very creditable, would be at least
intelligible, and I might quote great examples in its favour ; but
to flatter, where nothing is to be gained, is as foolish as it is
discreditable.
" The converts go on to say, that they have never thought of
calling any individual Protestant a heretic. I never said they
ha:d, but I am delighted to find that they disapprove with me of
such uncivil and uncharitable conduct.
^' The converts add, that ^ as Protestants are a sect notoriously
heretical,' they fear that, if they do not call them heretics, they
may confound them with the Catholics, paiticularly since the
divines of Oxford have begun to afiect for their party the name
of Catholics. — I am happy to have it in my power to assist the
converts in their difficulty. I could refer them to St Augustine's
charitable mode of addressing the Donatist Bishops, but I will
rather direct their attention to the more recent conduct of St.
Francis of Sales in his intercourse with the Calvinists, whom he
converted in such immense numbers, or I would recommend
them to read the controversial works of the great Bossuet, of
Dr. Milner, Dr. Wiseman, Dr. Lingard, Dr. Fletcher, Mr.
Husenbeth, and a host of others, who have contrived to write
most powerfully against the Protestant religion, without ever
applying reproachAil terms to its followers. I do not say that
the latter do not often deserve reproachful language ; nor do I
mean to disapprove always of its being applied to ^em ; but as
a general rule, I consider reproachAil language towards the
erring as both impolitic and uncharitable, and it was to such
language as this, which it is certain has been used amongst us,
and which I could quote, were it necessary, that I objected in
my Pastoral.
" As to the Oxford divines assuming the name of Catholic,
the converts need not trouble themselves on this account. It
has been done constantly, by every heretical and schismatical
.sect^ since the days of St. Augustine. Its assertion, on the part
m2
Digitized by
Google
144 RECOLLECTIONS OP EMINENT MEN.
of the Protestants^ may always be met with a denial, on the part
of the Catholics. But there is no reason why Catholics should
say an uncivil thing because Protestants say a foolish one. Let
the coiiverts in all doubtful oases, stick to the term Roman
Catholics, and they cannot be mistaken.
" N6. 6. — This number causes in me a mixture of pleasure
and pain; pleasure to be informed that the converts are respected
by the Protestants, (for I had feared 'that it was not the case),
and pain to hear that they should have been abused and ill-treated
' by a party of their brethren,' and this for their attachment
*to Roman maxims and devotions.* lam still more grieved
to hear that there should be a party in the Catholic body more
hostile to these maxims and devotions than to heresy itself!!
I cannot understand how such a party can consistently call
itself Catholic ; for to reject the maxims and devotions of Rome
is to reject the maxims and devotions of the Catholic Church,
whilst to favour heretical doctrines is to participate in their
guilt.
" I am happy, however, to assure the converts that there is
no such party in the Western District. There, not only the
doctrines and essential discipline of the Catholic Church are
universally received amongst the Catholics, but all that concerns
the exterior of religion is rigorously fashioned upon the Roman
model. Every one who has been at Prior Park must have
seen with what scrupulous exactitude the clerical habits, the
sacerdotal vestments, the ceremonies, rubrics, and religious
observances of every kind, are observed as in Rome, both by
the bishop himself, and by the clergy, seminarists, and secular
students. In fact, having enjoyed the singular honour and
advantage of assisting, for several years, at the throne of the
Sovereign Pontiff, and witnessing the manner in which all the
sacred functions are performed in the presence of the august
Head of the Church, it was impossible for me not to feel how
superior is the Papal ceremonial to any other, and how infinitely
better suited for a country like England, where it is desirable
that every thing connected with religion should be as conform-
able to ancient usage, as free from modem local innovations,
and as consistent with good taste, as possible. . Now all these
particulars are so admirably combined in the Papal ceremonial,
that I have long considered it as the model which ought to be
followed by us, and have therefore established it in my district
" In this district, then, I must again assure the converts, that
no such'party as they (5omplain of existe/nor do I think it does
in the London or Northern Districts^. Possibly there may be
something of -the kind in the Midland Dii^trict, though I hope
not much. Indeed, I have feared^ for some time, that the
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 145
attempt to change the sacred yestmeDts, liturgy, and ceremonial
of Bome for others used, or supposed to have been used, at
some former period in England, might, by degrees, weaken the
respect and veneration which all national churches ought to
bear to the parent Church, and thus give birth to some schis-
matical party similar to what the converts describe.
" However, as the Holy See has resolved to suppress those
dangerous innovations in the Midland District, and has just
sent thither a prelate who has of late distinguished himself as the
supporter of every thing Roman, I console myself with the hope
that the root of the evil will be entirely destroyed, and that the
party, of which the converts complain, will of itself wither away.
^'I am the more confirmed in the persuasion that the party^
complained of by the converts, is some small confederation in
the Midland District, from observing that the complainants iu
No. 6 are not the converts of England, as elsewhere, but the
converts of the Midland District; for they say, *that they do
nothing more than serve under the standard of their bishop^
the Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District.* It gives me
great satisfaction to find that these converts are so deeply
impressed with the impropriety of dictating to their spiritual
rulers, and I am not a little consoled to think that, notwith*
standing public gossip and general belief, I should have
refrained, in my Pastoral, from making any such charge against
them, confining my censures rigorously to the Actually guilty,
not scattering them abroad amongst the innocent and calum-
niated.
" No. 7.— The converts assert, that when I iq)eak of * certain
practices of piety and self-selected*good works,' to which some
converts attach too much importance, *I allude to different
confraternities and devotions, to which certain zealous mission*
aries of the Midlapd District, belonging to the class of converts^
associate the faithful.' The converts will excuse me, when I
beg to be allowed to know what I alluded to better than they.
I was not before aware that a single converted missionary of
the Midland District, associated the faithful .with a single con-
fraternity or devotion of any kind, a subject about which I
should never think of troubling my head. I alluded to that
very large class of mistaken devotees, so admirably described
in the first chapter of the Spiritual Combaty a book which I
have read daily for years, and which, after the sacred Scrip-
tures, is my bumble text-book in all matters relating to practical
Christianity.
"Ye converts, whoever you may be, read, I beseech you,
and study well this admirable book, paying particular attention
to chapter first.
Digitized by
Google
146 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
^^ In sec. 4 of my Pastoral I said that, amongst oUr converts,
there were some who attach an undue importance to favourite
exercises of piety, and I alluded, as an illustration of my
meaning and confirmation of my assertion, to the false devotee
so eloquently described by our Blessed Saviouf, in the parable
of the Pharisee and the Publican. I said, as the Spiritual
Combat also equivalently says, that * all v^ho joined these false
devotees in their favourite practices are applauded by them as
saints, whilst all who walk in a more humbled and more beaten
track are scarcely allowed to be Christian!^.'
" There is nothing whatever in the Pastoral which points these
remarks, nor was it my intention to point them, at any par-
ticular person or persons of the 26,000 *new convei*ts of
England.' I merely threw them out as a caution to those,
whoever they may be, who answer the description given ; and
that, in so great a number of persons, there must be many such,
no one, alas ! who is at all acquainted vdth poor human nature,
can doubt.
" Yet, what is the stricture made by the converts on this
passage ? They simply say that my assertion is an 'unquali-
fied lie and calumny!!' Such is the language of the converts'.
What would they have said and don« if I had used such language
as this to any individual of their part}', when, for speaking as
I have done, not of individuals, but of large masses of people,
they have caused me to be summoned to answer for my
conduct before the highest authority in the Church,
" No. 9. — In this article the converts modestly express it as
their opinion, nay, conviction, that when I speak of some
* practices which the Church tolerates rather than approves,' I
allude to the devotion of the Sacred Heart. But has not the
Church approved this devotion ? Then how can I be thought
to allude to it, when I speak of a devotion which she only
tolerates, and does not approve ? I did not allude either to
this or to any devotion which the Church approves ; for what
the Church approves, that I approve ; but I alluded to certain
devotions, not uncommon in England, which the Church never
has, nor, I am sure, ever will, approve. Whkt those devotions
are I am ready to state in due time, when called upon by
proper authority.
" The converts assert, that my ^principles and acts respecting
the Sacred Heart are known,' — ^by which words, I fear, they
mean to insinuate that neither are exactly what they ought to
be. I wish the converts would deal less in insinuations, and
more in open and distinct charges. I might then, I doubt not,
defend both my principles and my acts. As it is, I can only
say, in self-defence, that my principles are precisely those of
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OP EMINENT MEN. 147
the Churchy whatever they may be, and that, as to my acts, I
remember none on this head. I am told it has been said, that
I had ordered the taking down of some pictures of the Sacred
Heart. This is not true. I have neither ordered the taking
down nor sanctioned the setting up of any, except in a convent
or two of nuns, where they have been erected with my consent
** If it be true, as the converts assert, that the devotion of the
Sacred Heart 'causes the conversion of Protestants in the
Midland Distiict, they cannot do better than encourage it. I
had fancied it was intended more for exciting the devotion of
Catholics than correcting the errors of Protestants. It would
be highly gratifying to me to receive more ample information
on this curious subject.
"No. 10. — In this article the converts cannot understand
why I should be so mild and gentle to Protestants as to refuse
to call them ^ heretics,' and so harsh to converts as to call them
^perverseJ* The word in this place means wayward^ whatever the
Italian word ^perverst may mean, as I should think the translator
must have known. And are there no wayward converts in Eng-
land ? Who will step forward and say nay ? But I must again re-
mind the converts that my Pastoral was not a censure upon
converts in general, but only upon those whose conduct was such
as I described. That the latter are perverse there can be no doubt;
that it may be lawful to tell them so as occasion requires, and
to treat them with less ceremony than Protestants, I infer from
the conduct of our Blessed Saviour, who was all kindness to
Samaritans, publicans and sinners, and all severity to the
hypocritical scribes and pharisees. Had not the converts in
question possessed a large share of the simulation of their
Jewish prototypes, they would not have had either the ingenuity
or hardihood to constitute their own diminutive numbers the
representatives of the whole body of the converted, and to
assert that whatever we say of themselves must be said of all.
Certainly, had I been disposed to speak of the converts of
England as a body, I should have said that I considered them
at least equal in merit to the original Catholics. Nay, I should
have remarked that, in many instances, the virgin earth had
appeared to me more prolific of good works than the olden soil,
and that I had been often tempted to consider the grateful and
fervent converts of England as the hope of the flock to which
heaven, in its mercy, has associated them. If I did not say all
this in my Pastoral it was because I did not think that it required
to be said, and because my object was not to panegyrize the
good, but to correct the bad. I feel confident that none of the
good converts have taken offence at the omission of their
praises. If the others have taken fire at my gentle admonitions^
Digitized by
Google
148 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN«
tbis only proves the truth of the wise man's saying, that die
perverse are not easily corrected — * Perversi difficile corri-
guntur/ (Eccles. i. 15.) The remainder of the proverb is
inapplicable on the score of numbers*
"No. 11. — I had mentioned, as a piece of perversity on the
part of some of our converts, (sec. 4), their prefixing to books,
vehich they wished Protestants to read, mottos which would
cause the latter to throw them aside. The converts seem to
admit that such is their conduct, but defend it on the plea that
the mottos I allude to assert the immaculate conception of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, which they seem to think cannot be
unseasonably brought forward at any time. I suspect, from
certain underlinings of my words, that they wish to insinnate
that my orthodoxy or piety is compromised when I say that
^this doctrine does not belong to the code of defined dogmas,
and may therefore be rejected by Catholics without censure.'
But is not this true ? and has not the Holy See repeatedly
prohibited even the public discussion of the subject? This
prohibition I always have and always shall observe to the
letter. Indeed, I have never found time to investigate the
grounds of the different opinions, and probably never shall.
In the meanwhile, though I could, without fear of censure from
the Church, if not from the converts, embrace or reject privately
either opinion, I shall do neither the one nor the other. Not
knowing sufficiently the grounds of the two opinions, I cannot
consistently believe or reject either of them. I think Bellarmioe
somewhere says, ^that the doctrine which asserts the immacu-
late conception cannot ever become an article of faith.' Were it
ever to become so, I should instantly believe it with undoubted
assent. At the same time it appears to me that tiiy belief of
this mystery could nev^r increase, in the slightest degree, either
the profound veneration I feel for the rromaoulate Mother of
God, or the humble confidence I trust I shall ever place in her
maternal compassion and most powerful intercession. In the
meantime, if any one choose to believe the mystery without
knowing die reasons upon which it rests, I shall certainly leave
him to the free emoyment of his liberty. But I shall stron^y
object to his conauct if, whilst I am endeavouring to convince
some unfortunate f^rotestant of the divinity of Christ, or the
real presence in the blessed Eucharist, he interrupt me with his
clamours about the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mother.
" What a pity it is that these thoughtless or empty-headed
converts cannot be induced to mind their own business, and
allow their teachers to attend to theirs !
** No. 12. — This number is incomprehensible. Against what
' sincere and tender devotions of the Roman Church ' have I
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 149
inveighed ? This is some mfw inBinaationy which verbal repre-
sentations, secretly given, might perhaps explain.
" No. 13. — ^I quite agree with the converts, when they say
that ^a wise economy will reserve the less essential parts of
religion to the moment when the^ converted are become suscept-
ible of more solid and substantial nutriment ;' and it is on this
account, that till the English Protestants have learnt to digest the
simple dogmas of our faith, it is my opinion that they should
not be compelled to swallow the more highly seasoned dishes, in
which the converts so complacently luxuriate.
" The remainder of No. 13 is very intelligible, though con-
veyed, as usual, in the form of insinuation. It means to assert
that, ' in order to caress heresy, / violate the doctrines of faith.*
If this charge be tnie, I ought no longer to act as a Christian
bishop. If it is not true, does not the charge recoil upon my
accusers, and prove them to be what I have described them,
the scribes and pharisees of modem titnes i The remaining
part of No. 13 asserts that, in consequence of my caressing
heresy and violating the faith, I make no converts. If it be
meant that I personally do not make any converts, the assertion
is founded on mistake. Were it lawful to boast on such subjects,
I might do it ; but God forbid I should. However if making
converts is a proof of orthodoxy, I am safe ; for I have had the
happiness of making many, and such too, as have done honour
to the Holy Beligion, to which Ggd in his mercy has called
them. If my accusers mean to assert that no converts are made
in the district over which I preside, their assertion is disproved
by the authentic statements I have delivered to Propaganda.
By them it appears that, during the year 1 839, the number
of the converted, in the Western District, bore, to the number
of the existing Catholics, the proportion of 1 to 113. It is
asserted, as a proof of the superior orthodoxy of the Midland
Catholics, that they have been more fruitful in conversions. In
this case, every 113 of them will have made more than one con-
vert in a year. It will give me exceeding great pleasure to find
that this is the case : but I doubt the fact.
"Why should not the Sacred Congregation order, from aU the
districts, a return, like mine, containing an authentic account,
signed by each missionary, of the number of converts received
by him into the Church in one year ? This would point out
with certainty the real progress of religion in the country at large,
and its relative increase in the different districts. I am much
mistaken if such statements would not prove that they, who have
been the loudest in their boasting, have not been the most
successful in their labours. The question may then be enter-
tained or not, as shall seem best to the Sacred Congregation,
how it has happened that, for some years past, the Midland
Digitized by
Google
150 RfiCOLLBCTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
Districty and its respected Vicar Apostolic should haye been so
highly extolled at Rome, whilst the other districts and their
ecclesiastical superiors, have been less thought of. I am sure
the inquiry would give great satisfaction, and, I think, confer
some credit upon the Vicars Apostolic of England.
^^ The converts proceed to inform us, that England became
schismatical by forsaking the centre of Catholic unity, and shaking
off the authority of the Church ! ! How must the Sacred Congrega-
tion be indebted to them for this information ! What follows is
not less instructive. They affirm that ^England can become Catho-
lic again, only by again connecting itself with the centre of unity,
and submitting once more to the authority of the Church ! '
They add, that it will ^ be useful if, at the same time, England
would embrace all the truths and pious practices which the
Church has sanctioned.' This is not quite so clear. The Church
has sanctioned many pious practices in particular places, which
would not be suitable in others. Hall these pious practices were
adopted in England, I fear we should find them inconvenient
A room may be too fiill, even of valuable furniture, and a table
overloaded even with the choicest luxuries. But the truth is,
that what the converts wished to insinuate, by their sage remark,
was, that, in spiritual matters, I am too fond of simple furniture
and plain wholesome food for their refined taste and luxurious
habits.
" No. 14. — In this number the converts indignantly call upon
me to state what are the old wives' fableSy to which I allude,
and to give the names of the individuals who pay attention to
them. I have already stated what were some of these old wives*
fables, and I think the converts will be satisfied with the selection.
If not, I have many more in readiness. The names of the indi-
viduals alluded to, I will not mention ; nor is it necessary I
should. I have mentioned the old vnves' fables themselves.
Let each examine his own conscience. If he believe in those
fables, I alluded to him ; if not, I did not allude to him. Who-
ever is proud of the distinction, can claim it for himself. Some,
I think, would not wish to claim it, and why should I expose
them ? My object is answered, if the foolish are ashamed
of their follies, and will avoid them for the future.
" No. 15. — In this number the converts became eloquent I
had forbidden certain public prayers to be offered in my district ;
* Therefore,' conclude the converts, according to my view of
things, ^ the Holy See in granting indulgences for these prayers
did very wrong : the Catholic Institute of London, in printing
and publishing these prayers did very wrong: the Vicar Apos-
tolic of the Midland District, in ordering them did very wrong :
and in fine, all the Catholic bishops of France and oUier king-
doms, in ardently adopting these prayers, did very wrong !'
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. l51
'^ All these awful conclusions I beg leave to deny.
" 1 St. — The Holy See did not do wrong in granting indul-
gences to the prayers which I forbad, because to such prayers
no indulgences were ever granted. The only prayers which I
forbad, as already mentioned, was a 'public weekly Mans on
Tfiursday for the immediate national conversion of England.
For such Mass the Holy See never granted an indulgence.
" 2ndly. — ^Whether the Catholic Institute did wrong in printing
the prayer-book in question, I have not, and shall not decide ;
but if they circulated that book in the different districts, without
the consent of the bishops, I think they did wrong.
" 3rdly. — The Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District knows
best why he ordered the prayer-books. I never knew before
that he had ordered them, nor does my Pastoral make the
slightest allusion either to the bishop or his books.
" 4thly. — It is not for me to judge the bishops of France, or
other kingdoms, some of whom, not ally have ordered weekly
prayers for the conversion of England. I had personal com-
munication with some of these prelates, and found that they
had been led into the notion that the national conversion of
England was already far advanced, and that its speedy comple*
tion was to be expected as a probable event. On this supposition
there could be no impropriety in their offering up prayers for it.
But had these bishops known the real state of affairs in England,
I am of opinion that they would no more have offered public
prayers for the immediate conversion of England, than they
would for the immediate conversion of China or Hindostan.
Probably, indeed, the prayers ordered by them were only such
as have been always offered by us, in which case I have no fault
to find with them. Independently of all these considerations,
the bishops of France and other countries are the proper judges
of what public prayers ought to be used in their respective
dioceses : I claim the same privilege for myself, and deny the
right of any authority, save diat of the Holy See, to dictate to
me on this head.
" The converts say, that * the Catholics may now fight openly
against the Established Church, and that they will have on their
side many English Protestants, who can ill brook the exorbitant
wealth of the so-called Anglican Hierarchy.' This sounds very
valiant, but it is not wise. The Catholics are a very small body
in England, about one in twenty-six. So weak a party should
not go to war. Peace is its true policy. If the war party were
not blinded by their heroism, they might have learnt, by the
issue of their first desultory campaign, what must be the result
of continuing the contest. They have brought into the field
against us such a force as never was levied before ; a force
against which it were mere knight-errantry to attempt to contend.
Digitized by
Google
152 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
In other words, they have caused the Catholic Religion to be
more numerou^y opposed, and more virulently calumniated,
than it has been for many years ; they have given occasion to
thousands of blasphemous and scandalous publications, for
which no remedy has, or can be applied ; and in various public
contests, in \vhich they have engaged, ihey have either been
actually defeated, or considered so by the public. If, therefore,
it be true that the Catholics 'may now Jlghi openly with the
English Protestants,* it is equally true that it is bad generalship
to do so. But of allimprudenoies, there is none equal to that of
attacking the treasury of the Established Church. Combat its
doctrines in a quiet way, and you may gain many converts and
gradually advance your cause; attack its revenues, and you
raise a storm which nothing can resist or appease.
' ''This same number affirms that the 'celebrated Dr. Wiseman
was the first author of prayers for the conversion of England,'
and that Mr. Spence|: was the author only of an association for
a weeky Mass on Thursdays. I never heard that Dr. Wiseman
had been the author of such prayers till I received a letter from
him, a few months ago, informii^ me that he had introduced
some prayers for this purpose into the English College at Rome,
and had requested the Pope to grant some indulgences to the
Collegians who used them. He added that, contrary to his
intention, his Holiness had made the indulgences general to alt
who should use these prayers. With these prayers, therefore,
I did not interfere, confining my prohibition, as already stated,
to the weekly Mass on Thursdays, recommended by Mr.
Spencer, to whom I wrote on the occasion, assigning my
reasons for so doing, and from whom I received an answer
worthy of so good, humble, and charitable a priest, and as
unlike the effusions of some of his brother converts as solid
gold is unlike hoUow brass, or genuine piety pharisaioal pre-
tension.
" No. 16. — This number asserts, that when I spoke of other
bishops who had acted differently from my self,. I alluded to Dr.
Walsh alone, probably because I used the plural number!
This is a mistake ; I did not allude to Dr. Walsh at all, but to
the foreign bishops.
"No 17. — I had said, in sec. 5 of the Pastoral, that I con-
sidered the immediate national conversion of England as
morally impossible, comparing it to the return of the negro*s
skin to its antediluvian whiteness. In this persuasion I had
insisted that we should content ourselves with praying for the
conversion of England in the way that has been customary,
viz., ^on the understanding that our prayers should be heard
in the manner, and at the time, most consistent with the in-
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 153
scratable providence of God,* — these were my words. The
converts are shocked at such doctrine, and exclaim, ^ is this
edifying in a Pastoral ? is this consistent with the divine mercy ? *
Unhappy me ! Here I am, a priest of thirty-years' standing,
and a bishop of seventeen, engaged since my youth in theo-
logical studies or ministerial duties, and yet, after all, I have
to be taught what is edifying in a Pastoral, and what is
consistent with the Divine mercy, by some *new converts,*
probably mere laymen, perhaps lay women, whose very names
are unknown ! Y6t, wha* was my fault ? Some of these
converts got into their heads that England wus on the eve of
conversion, and insisted upon a public weekly Mass being
offered in every chapel, in aid of the good work. I saw no
signs of such conversion, and refused my sanction to the Mass.
However, as the converts insisted upon the truth of their
opinion, in order that I might proceed upon sure grounds, I
isdbed a circular to all my clergy, ordering them to send me in
the number of the converts made by them in one whole year,
1839. They had made exactly 221. The total population of
my district was, according to the public census in 1831,
3,000,195. It is now considerably increased. To obtain the
nimiber of years required for the Conversion of my district,
{at the rate we are now going o«), I divided the whole popula-
tion, 3,000,195, by the converts of one year, viz., 221, which
gave . me 13,575^ years. Tt is true that the arithmetical
Jrogression, here followed, is not the true one ; but neither
'ould the geometrical be so. As in this mode of calculation I
take no account of those who fall away from the faith, (of
whom, in No. 13, the converts insinuate, too truly, that I have
many), I do not think that it is very inaccurate. But if we
suppose the number of converts to become double what it is,
we must still allow nearly 7,000 years for the conversion of my
district. Nay, if we suppose it to become thirteen times as
great as at present, still the conversion of the Western District
will require above 1,000 years ! This does not look much like
an immediate national conversion. The case may be, and I
have no doubt is, better in the other districts, the number of
the existing Catholics in them being greater. But suppose, as
I have already done, that the total annual number of converts
throughout all England be 5,309, and the population only what
it was in 1831, viz., 13,894,574, it will require, for the conver-
sion of tho whole country, 2,617 years. In short, in whatever
way I made my calculation, taking always for its basis facts,
not prophecies and imaginations, I found no signs of an imme-
diate national conversion, and therefore felt the more convinced
that I ought not to allow public prayers to be established on a
Digitized by
Google
154 BBCOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
supposition so manifestly erroneous. Now what is there m
this conduct to disedify the converts ? They insinaate that my
disbelief of the immediate conversion of England 4s incon-
sistent with the mercies of God.' This I cannot understand.
I believe that the mercies of God are infinite. I cannot believe
them greater. I believe that God could, if he pleased, convert
all England next year as easily as next century. But if one
man think proper to believe that God will actually convert
England next year, and I do not believe that he will accom-
plish the merciful work in less than a centnry, does it follow
that that man's opinion accords better with the divine mercy
than mine i I think not. I think that both opinions are
equally consistent with the mercies of God. The only difference
is, that the man who believes that God will convert all England
next year, believes so contrary to reason and common sense ;
whilst I, who believe that he will not do it in less than a
century, refuse to set at defiance reason, facts, history, and
all the ordinary principles of judgment. But the converts have
the authority of prophecies in favour of their opinion. Then
let them bring forward these prophecies, and allow the bishops
to examine into their genuineness and authenticity. If the
converts do not venture to do this, let them keep their prophecies
to themselves, and offer up, in private^ whatever prayers they
please ; but let them excuse me, as bishop, from looking at my
duty through their coloured spectacles^ and guiding my public
•conduct by their elastic judgments.
^' But I ought not to have said these things in a Pastoral.
And why not ? A bishop's Pastoral is the customary medium
through which he gives such instruction to his flock, as the
circumstances of time or place seem to dictate. It is the ordi-
nary mean by which he contradicts erroneous assertions, refutes
false principles, opposes dangerous innovations, and lays down
suitable regulations for the conduct of his flock.
^^ Had the converts been silent, or had they published only
correct accounts, respecting the progress of religion in England,
my Pastoral would in all probability have been mute upon this
head : for it is my opinion, that the less we say of our success,
,the fewer obstacles we throw in our way, and the greater progress
we make. But when statements, which I knew to be grossly
exaggerated, were put forth, however innocently, by the converts
. — when the public was thereby deluded, and I was called upon
to aid the delusion, by sanctioning certain public devotions
founded upon it — I felt myself compelled to speak out, and to
rescue the Catholic religion from the reproach of employing, for
its advancement, the sectarian arts of boasting and exaggeration.
Convinced, as I am, that the conversion of all England would
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 155
not justify the smallest wilful exaggeration, I cannot see why
my Pastoral should be deemed disedifying, because it opposes
itself to such exaggerations, and asserts what its author finally
believes to be the truth. I am sure Almighty God does not
require the aid of error for the advancement of His truth : nor
do I think He would approve the conduct of one of His ministers,
who should even connive at the employment of such means in
His divine service. ^ Non tali auxilio,' &c.
"No. 18. — I never heard that the Holy See 'praised and
commended^ a public weekly Mass for the immediate conversion
of England, which was all I forbad.
" No. 19. — This is one of the articles which betrays its author-
ship most clearly. It evidently does not proceed from the
converts of England, but from the same party who, on a former
occasion, endeavoured to excite against me, and some of the
other Vicars Apostolic, the feelings of the Holy See, on the
ground that we opposed the introduction of the Lyons Associa*
tion into England, which association, it was asserted, the Pope
was desirous to see established there. Now, what was the fact ?
I will speak only of myself. I had under my jurisdiction a dis-
trict containing, according to a late census, besides the Catholic
population, above three millions of Protestants, for whose
spiritual assistance I possessed not the smallest resource. I
had not the means to educate, for their assistance, one single
priest, nor to support, for one single year, any volimteer
missioner who might offer his services. In fact, there are notj
in any part of the known worlds three millions of people more
completely destitude of the means of Catholic instruction than
the Protestant inhabitants of the Western District, Yet, it is
thought, that in some provinces of this district, religion would
make great progress if there were missioners to preach it.
That it would make infinitely greater than it does in Hindostan
or in China, there is not the smallest doubt. Under these
circumstances, it had been agreed upon, at a meeting of the
bishops, that a general contribution, on the plan of the Lyons
Association, should be organized in England, for the benefit of
our own destitute districts, particularly the Western. But before
we could carry the plan into execution, we were called upon by
certain laymen, to assist in organizing one for the benefit of
foreign missions ; and we were told, but not in any official way,
that such were the wishes of his Holiness. I, for one, said,
that if his Holiness had expressed such wishes, I felt confident,
either that he was not aware of the urgent wants of our native
districts, or of our having previously formed the plan of a
national collection in their favour. As soon, however, as I had
ascertained that his Holiness had really expressed a wish for
Digitized by
Google
156 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
the establishment of the Lyons and Paris Association in Eng-
land, I not only withdrew my opposition, but gave my name to
the said association, as one of its patrons or supporters, in which
position I now stand. Yet the converts assert the contrary, and
reproach me for soliciting assistance for my own destitute
district !
"No. 20. — ^This number is worthy to close the list of accusa-
tions against me, and to crown the converts* work. The Pastoral
was issued soon after the marriage of our gracious Queen. The
question had been started, what was to be done on the occasion.
Should addresses of congratulation be presented by Catholics,
as a body distinct from the rest of the community ? I thought
not, inasmuch as the Oatholics, being now by the Act of Eman-
cipation, incorporated with the rest of the pec^le, must be sup-
posed to join in all the local addresses presented from different
parts of like kingdom. Others were of a different opinion ; and,
amongst the rest, the Seminary of the Midland District presented
a congratulatory address. I presented none, nor was any pre-
sented from Prior Park. Another question arose in which I
was obliged to take a -part. Ought the name of the Queen's
Royal Consort to be inserted with her own, in the prayer
usually added to the post-communion ? I consulted with the
nearest of my brother bishops, and we agreed that it ought.
This information I gave to my clergy and people in the conclu-
sion of my Pastoral, exhorting Ihem to pray both for our beloved
Sovereign herself, and for him, with whose welfaure and happiness
her own are now associated.
^^Now, what are the comments the converts make on these
proceedings? They exclaim that, "whilst I recommend the
Queen and her Consort to the prayers of the Catholics, I
say 'not a word of the Sovereign Pontiff, not a word of the
Catholic Church V Yet, it is a fact, that the form of prayer
which I recommended for the Queen and her Royal Con-
sort, and which was given verbatim in the Pastoral itself,
began vrith the name of the Pope, at fuU lengthy and ended
with the Church in general, as has been the custom in
En^and. This prayer, however, the conyerts wisely omitted
in tibeir translation, though they were so scrupulously fearful of
omitting any thing else, as to insert CTcn my regulations for the
frist ! And what is the accusation they build on this uncandid
statement ? Why, they assert that *my only solicitude was to
gain. the favour oi the government and the Protestants !' The
same charge was before insinuated. Here it is asserted as a
fitct Yet I presented no address to her Majesty, as was done
in the Midland District ; nor have I any reason to suppose that
the Queen ever saw a copy of my Pastoral. I am happy>
however, to hear that she did see a copy of that of the Right
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 157
Bererend Vicar Apostolic of the London District, (which con-
tained the same form of prayer as mine), and expressed her
great satisfaction that her Catholic subjects made herself and
her Royal Consort the object of their prayers, which she has been
informed they did not do. Whatever royal favour, therefore,
the ordering of these prayers might command, must have fallen
to the lot of my Right Reverend Brother, not to mine ; nor have
I ever made the slightest attempt to share it with him, by assert-
ing aa equal and simultaneous merit."
. " I have now, in compliance with your Eminence's wishes,
gone through Uie whole of the charges brought against my
Pastoral.
" I again beg leave to remind your Eminence, that if there is
any thing in the style of my replies which argues little respect
for my accusers, I do not consider myself as addressing your
Eminence, or any authority of the Holy See, nor even the con-
verts of England, but only the insidious and uncharitable indi-
viduals who have sheltered themselves behind this respectable
body, whilst. they discharged their treacherous and envenomed
shafts. This hostile act is only the last of a series, to which I
and some of the other Vicars Apostolic have been the victims.
What private ends such persons had to answer — ^to what hostile
parties they associated themselves, to strengthen their weakness
or conceal their interference — what exaggerated reports they
spread in convenient quarters — what complicated agencies they
employed to poison the ear of venerable withority — it is un-
necessary that I should here disclose.
"The history of the Pastoral is alone sufficient to justify the
style of the remarks I have already made, and those wluch I
shall take the liberty to add.
"There are above half a million of Catholics in England.
As a body, they are well conducted and deserving of praise.
Perhaps no body of Catholics in Europe has given stronger or
more unequivocal proof of sterling and disinterested piely. I
speak of the whole body, laity and clergy. Respecting the
latter, in particular, I have not seen in any other country, nor
do I think that there exists in the world, a body of clergy so
generally edifying, so decorous in their conduct, so disinterested
in pecuniary matters, so anxious to devote every superfluous
acquisition to the improvement of their missions ; so unsparing
of their labours, so fearless of dangers, and so ready to encounter
martyrdom itself, in the discharge of their sacred duties.
" I speak of the whole body of our Catholic clergy, secular
and regiilar ; for, in these respects, whatever partisans on either
side may say, there is little difference. Such is the Ehglish
VOL. XIL N
Digitized by
Google
158 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
Catholic body. But there are in this, as in every body of equal
magnitude, a certain number of persons, who are infected with
all the faults to which human beings are liable. These faults it
is the business of bishops to restrain, as far as they can, and
according as times and circumstances may permit. At one time
certain errors or offences will become prevalent, which are less
prominent at another, when the attention of the bishop mast be
directed to that point. He must endeavour to be as ' opportune'
as possible in his interference, but if he is occasionally ^ impor-
tune ' he will only be what the apostle recommends. He must
often * argue,' oftener * entreat,' but occasionally he must venture
to * reprove,' — for, as the same apostle says, * there will be times,
when men will not put up with sound doctrine^ but will turn
their itching ears to fables.^
" This is really the case at the present moment, or at least it
was so some months ago, in England. A party was getting up
in the Catholic body, which I have already described, in which
& few neophite convert^^gured as leaders. It was a bustUng,
noisy, conceited, and intractable little party. It affected extra-
ordinary piety, without knowing what piety meant. It was for
reforming the Church, Is^efore it had learnt to reform itself. It
imported all sorts of pious practices, and exported such home-
spun articles as charity, truth and hamiKty, in return. It was so
loud in its own praises, that many bdieved its boasting ; and so
bitter in its hosdlity, that all feared its resentment. This party
was becoming every day more fcrmidable, by the forbeaniDce of
the bishops— till, at last, th& question rose, who should devote
himself to check the headlong evil. It fell to my lot; and I
only predicted my own fate, when I said of this little knot of
devotees, ^ all who join or imitate them in their exterior prac-
tices, are applauded by them as saints! all who walk in an
humble and more beaten track, are scarcely allowed to be
Christians.'
^^ The remark is not new. It has been made on liiis elass of
persons by almost every spiritual writer. How truly it was
applied in my case, is abundantly proved by the feicts that have
occurred.
"I issued a Bastoralj the objiects of which I have already
described. They were perfectly ligitima^ and laudable, not to
say necessary. They were to encourage and recommend my
poor Irish Catholics, who had behaved «o admirably in the late
insurrection, and to check somewhat the mischievous little party
I have described ! To the individuals of this party I bore no
personal ill-will. On the cCMitrary, I had a great regard for
some of them, as amiable and weU-meaning, though misgraided
and obstinate persons, and regretted that I should be under the
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 159
necessity of chasiising them. For the safne reason, I was care-
ful to treat the offenders with the greatest possible lenity. I
therefore simply, and in the gentlest manner, raised the mask
which some of them wore, and enabled the public to obtain a
glimpse of their genuine features. At the same time, I carefully
avoided mentioning names, so that all might, if they pleased,
preserve their incognito. In fact they ha^e all done so ; for,
whilst it is pretended that all the new converts of England have
come forward, as the accusers of my Pastoral, not one of the
twenty -six thousand has given his name, as an original of my
portraits. The real fact is,^ the vast majority of the English con-
verts were as much disgusted as I was with the conduct of their
noisy associates, and were right glad that the latter had at last
met with a check. It was only a very, very small minority,
whose indignation was roused, because their pride was hurt. Of
this yery small minority, some very few individuals rushed into
the presence of the highest authority, declaring that, in their
saindy persons, the whole body of English converts had been
grossly insulted ; and so loud were their clamours, and so inge-
niously were their numbers exaggerated, that they were for a
time believed. And what were die accusations they preferred
against me ? Why, at first they actually attempted (this I know)
to charge my Pastoral with heresy! or, in other words, to prove
me hardly a Christian ; but finding that this would not do, and
having sought in vain for any faults, in what I had actually
written, they assailed my motives. They declared that, in my
heart, I am hostile to the approved practices of the Church, and
more averse to pious Catholics than to the abettors of heresy !
that my anxiety m not to convert the erring, but to curry favour
with the great ! that I am disaffected to the Holy See, &c. &e. ^
^^ And why am I thus treated ? I defy my greatest enemies
to assign any better causey than the disapprobation I have
always expressed, and, vASi the grace of God, alwayis shall
express, to that class of false devotees, whose characters I
sketched in my Pastoral. I can say, without fear of contaradic-
tion, and I hope without vanity, dial^ in my pubUc duty, I have
not been remiss. I believe few bishops have exerted themselves
more than I have done, in preaching the gospel, in defending
the truth, in opposing error and in promoting, by every means in
my power, the cause of religioQ. If I have laboured hard^ I
bave also suffered keenly. I might have been a much greater
and better man than I am, by the preeminence of obloquy and
persecution that has been allotted to me. My great coilifort has
been, that my humble endeavours, though opposied from'eveiy
quarter, have generally been crowned vntb success.^ tiial I^hayo
acoomplbhed some ob^^^ts indavour of my district^ which wer^
N 2
Digitized by
Google
160 BECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
pronounced impossible, and have gained to the truth no small
number of erring children, not one of whom, I am sure, has
taken offence at my Pastoral. I received, only yesterday, a
letter from one of these, a convert as distinguished for high rank
as for genuine piety, whose words, in self-defence, I may be
permitted to quote : —
. " ' Yesterday, the anniversary of your admitting me into the Church,
came your letter of the dth instant. It certainly is difficult not to feel
vexed and puzzled at seeing the one Bishop of England, who has done
most for religion, treated as you are ; called to order at the suggestion
of a set of raw converts, whose conduct in all this business is, after all,
the best commentary upon and justification of your Pastoral possible!
But, however, we must view all things, I suppose, like David, by the
light of the * sanctuary/ and find consolation in the thought, that such
has been the lot of all the servants of God ; and in the hope that you
do not, at least, run much risk of ever hearing that ' you have had your
reward !' I should like to be able to get up a sort of counter-address
from the more sane portion of the English converts, especially all those
converts you yourself have been instrumental in making, and a pretty
good long list it would be.*
. " I do not lay claim to the conunendations here bestowed
upon me, but I do to that of having done my best to merit them :
and. I certainly think that the remarks here made upon the con-
verts, and upon the treatment I have received at their hands,
are perfectly fair.
" That it would be jsasy to get into the good graces of this
class of persons, by joining diem in their favourite practices,
was ludicrously elucidated here some days ago. Happening to
inquire for a copy of a certain English prayer-book, relating to
the Sacred Heart, from which I wished to make extracts, the
person to whom I applied remarked, when I was gone — ^ I
am glad Dr. Baines is becoming pious, as he is inquiring for
the Devotion to the Sacred Heart !' So that, in this person's
notions, it was lawful to take it for granted that I am not pious,
no reason being assigned; and reasonable to consider me as a
convert to piety, the moment I adopt his favourite devotion ! !
Does not this prove the truth of my assertion, that, to pass as a
saint with these misguided persons, you have only to join them
in their pious exercises ? So little do they know in what pie^
consists! Yet these are the. persons who have had influence
enough to cause a bishop, who dared to reprove their conduct,
even in the abstract, to be grossly misrepresented, and then:
dragged as a culprit before the highest authorities of the Church.
God forbid that I should complain of these authorities. Their
open, candid, and straightforward mode of proceeding, in allow-
ing me to know the charges brought against, me, and affording
Digitized by
Google
KECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 161
me an opportunity of refuting them, proves their love of justice,
whilst their extreme kindness towards roe, in other respects,
shows how little they were disposed to participate in the hostile
feelings of my opponents.
"I shall conclude this lengthened dissertation with a few
extracts from letters, which I have received from various dis-
tinguished ecclesiastics, whose residence in the country, and
knowledge of the state of Catholic affairs, enabled them to judge
of the merits of the Pastoral. So convinced was I of the
unanimous feeling of the episcopal body on this head, that,
when I sent the Pastoral to my different missionaries, I, at the
same time forwarded copies to all the bishops in England,
Scotland, and Ireland.
'^ I have had no reason to suppose that any of them disap-
proved of it, whilst from several I have received assurances of
their entire concurrence in my views.*'
Here follow extracts from letters in approval of his Lord-
ship's views. Dr. Baines continues : —
" But it is useless to multiply authorities. These few I have
quoted because they are from persons whose station, character,
and talents must command universal respect. If more authorities
are wanting, I have been assured that, with very few exceptions,
the whole body of the Catholic clergy of the three kingdoms
will give me their names.
" Of the approbation of such men I must ever be proud, nor
can I doubt of the merits of a work which has had the good
fortune to obtain such approbation. I may, however, add, and
it is no small satisfaction to me to be able to do so, that I
know sufficient of the sentiments and feelings of the ecclesias-
tical authorities in this capital of the Christian world, not to
be well aware that the conduct of the English *new converts'
would have been far from meeting with encouragement here,
vyhere, to the immortal honour of the Holy See, all imposition,
pious fraud, false piety, and every species of spiritual charla-
tanerie is so jealously watched and so rigorously suppressed.
Had the English zealots attempted to perform their antics in
Rome instead of in England, the only difference would have
been, that, instead of smarting under my gentle and common
place castigation, they would have writhed beneath the more
dignified and weightier Apostolical stripes, which we have seen
of late so frequently and so powerfully administered to eccle-
siastical innovators in other countries.
" What, then. Most Eminent Prince, I will confidently but
respectfully ask, must be thought of those individuals who have
had the assurance to assert that their ill-datured, cd.ptiou8^
insulting, and uncharitable comments on the Pastoral, were
Digitized by
Google
162 RECOLtECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN;
those of the ^neiw converte of England/ and to insinuate, as
they have done, far and wide, that me same were the sentimeiats
and feelings of the Catholic body in general? Fortunate,
indeed, shall I esteem myself, if the inconveniences to which
I have been subjected, aild the obloquy to which I hate been
exposed in this business, should hate the effect pf guardmg
the Sacred Congregation, in future, against the intrigues and
conspiracies of unscrupulous, vindictive, or fanatical partisans,
and of inducing that exalted and respected tribunal to establish,
in all cases of similar accusation, a system of inquiry which
would restrain the malevolent, by rendering it moraUy im-
possible for them to escape detection before their iniquitous
machinations had injured the objects of their malevolence.
^^ I have the honour to sign myself, with the most profound
respect. Most Eminent Prince,
^^ Your Eminence's most obliged and obedient Servant,
4« ^^ Peter Auoustine Baines,
''BUhop ofSiga, F. J., ^fc, SgcP
^ On &e. 18th of August, I carried the foregoing answers to the
Propaganda, addressed under cover to the Prefect, Cardinal
Fransoni, who was out at the time. On the 21st, I called upon
his Eminence, and found he had not read them, but had sent
them to Monsignor Cadolini, the Secretary. His Eminence
informed me that the Pope had ordered the affair to be laid
before a special Congregation of Cardinals, which would not be
able to meet before the end of September, after which would
foUow the public vacations, when no business would be done ;
so that he considered it inipossible that I should return home tiU
after the winter ! I complained of the delay, and stated the
great inconvenience apd severe losses to which so long an
absence from home exposed myself and the colleges at Prior
Park.
. "After leaving the cardinal I called op Mon$ignor Cadolim>
who, I found, had xeceived the answers to the charges, but had
not read them. He held out hopes that the affairs would soon
be fimished, and that I should not be detained much longer.
"The prediction, however, of the cardinal proved true.
Though I frequently urged expedition, by representing the
extreme inconveniences to which the delay subjected myself
and my district, the affair continued to linger. First, the Pastoral
was to be printed, together vrith the charges made against it
and my answers to those charges ; then a lengthened pi^er had
been vmtten upon the business by a Conmltor of Propaganda,
which was in the press, and would take some time. I asked
Monsignor Cadolini if I should be allowed to see this paper?
Digitized by
Google
BECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN« 168
He replied no, that if such liberfy were allowed the business
would neTer end. Upon my observing that I must, therefore^
consider Propaganda as a secret tribunal^ he answered that ^it
was strictly so, precisely the same as the Holy Office ; that
secrecy was commanded under oath ; that I could not be allowed
to know any thing that was said or written during the trial, and
had nothing to do but to wait till the decision was made known
to me.' The secretary did not seem to understand what I
could mean by expressing my dissatisfaction at such kind of
trial. I was not allowed even to know the names of the cardinals
who composed the Select Congregation, nor that of the consultor,
who wrote the paper aboye-mentioned«
^^I afterwards discovered that the following distinguished
members of the Sacred Congregation were upon the list, viz.,
Cardinals Pacca, Oiustiniani, Lambrusehini, Mai, Castracane,
and Mezzofanti. Mr. and Mrs. M. M. affirm in their letters,
which are now circulating amongst the English Catholics, that
there were eight cardinals in the Select Congregation ; and as
ihey received their information from a body who certainly knew
all about the business, I think it probable &at such was the fact.
" This Select Congregation met on the 9th of December, but
their decision was not communicated to me till the 18th of
January, when I received it in a letter from his Holiness, who
confirmed the same by his supreme authority, and prescribed
certain conditions with which I was to comply.
^' I have reason to believe that his Holiness did not wish the
contents of this letter to transpire, and I do not, therefore,
consider myself justified in putting it into print; nor is it
necessary I should do so, inasmuch as I have his Holiness's
gracious permission to lay before the public the document which
I wrote in obedience to his commands, as an explanation of the
Pastoral, and an autograph letter, in which bis Holiness is
pleased to declare that the said document perfectly satisfied not
only his own demands respecting the Pastoral, but also those of
the Sacred Congregation. The following is a copy of the
document in question, which I delivered into the hands of his
Holiness on the 15th of March, 1841 : —
DECLAfiATIONS PRESENTED TO HIS HOLINESS.
" First — I engaged publicly to declare, as I now do, that I never
intended in any way to allude, in the Pastoral, to the Decrees of Pro-
paganda, of the 29th September, 1838, which decrees, as escplained hy
Propaganda, I fully receive, and consider as the conscientious rule of my
conduct. As to ridiculing those who patronise or observe them, I should
think it wrong to do so, and certainly never intended to do it.
Digitized by
Google
164 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
"Secondly, — I engaged to declare that, in no part of the Pastoral did
I mean to disapprove of the Devotion of the Sacred Heart, as far as it
has had the approbation of the Holy See. If I alluded to it at all, it was
only to disapprove of certain inaccurate expressions^ contained in books
which the Holy See has never approved, or of the imprudent way in
which the Devotion is sometimes practised, or brought forward. As to
the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, all I alluded to in the
Pastoral, was the making dedications to it, of books, which were liable
to fall into the hands of Protestants, to whom I considered that such
dedications were more likely to give scandal than edification. On these
as well as all other doctrines and practices, I do, and always have,
approved whatever the Church, or its organ, the Holy See, approves.
" Thirdly, — I promised to declare that I did not, in the Pastoral, dis-
approve of prayers in general for the conversion of England, some of
which I ordered, much less did I disapprove of any particular prayers
which the Holy See had approved ; that the only prayers 1 prohibited
in the Pastoral, as expressly stated in my answers to the charges, was a
weekly Mass, proposed to be celebrated publicly, for the immediate
national conversion of England. I have no hesitation, however, in
adding, that should the Holy See approve or command such Mass, I
shall certainly approve and enforce it.
"Fourthly. — 1 said the same of pious associations and pious exercises
of all kinds. It undoubtedly belongs to the Holy See to sanction such
matters by its authority, and it is undoubtedly my duty, as a Bishop,
and Vicar Apostolic, to obey its regulations.
."Fifthly. — I have already said, and here again openly declare, that I
had no intention of applying the remarks I made in the Pastoral, re-
specting converts, to the whole body of them in general, but only to certain
individuals, who were animated by a zeal which appeared to me
imprudent, and calculated to injure rather than benefit religion. In
applying to them certain texts from the epistles of St. Paul to the
Corinthians and Timothy, I never meant to insinuate that those converts
were guilty of the same offences as are mentioned by St. Paul, or to
impeach in any way either their faiths their morality, or their good
intentions.
" In objecting to the term heretics being applied indiscriminately to
Protestants, I declared that 1 did not mean to deny that the term may
be applied in a correct theological sense to any sect which denies the
articles of the Catholic Faith, and is separated from the centre of Catholic
unity, but only to assert that some individuals, who err invincibly and
without obstinacy, are not heretics in the strict and formal sense of the
term, and that harsh appellations, however trae, ought to be refrained
from as more likely to repel men from the truth, than to allure them to it.
''As to the charge of wishing to flatter Protestants, I referred to the
passage of the Pastoral, in which I compare the Anglican clergy to the
pagan priesthood, in proof that such charge Is groundless. As to the
complaint that I had seemed to place myself in opposition to the Holy
See, I could only regret, if this had happened through any fault of mine,
it having ever been my intention, as it was undoubtedly my duty to show
every deference, respect and obedience to that supreme authority
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 165
• "It will be seen that these declarations, which embrace all the
points contained in the original document, are little more than
a simple explanation of certain passages in the Pastoral, which
the converts, or their agents, had interpreted in an objectionable
sense. How far such interpretations could be fairly put upon
my words, others must be better judges than myself. To me
they appear forced and unnatural. However, being called upon
by my superiors to explain my sentiments more fully upon these
heads, it was my duty to suppress all feelings of repugnance,
and to comply with their demands with all humility and sin-
cerity, which I accordingly did.
"1 delivered the foregoing declarations into the hands of his
Holiness, on the 16th March, and never shall I forget the kind,
benevolent and paternal tenderness, which he expressed on the
occasion. He promised that he would write me a letter, which
I might show in self-defence, and that he would also write to
all the English Vicars Apostolic, to inform them of the happy
termination of this unpleasant affair. When I took my leave,
he loaded me with benedictions. On the 19th, his Holiness
again sent for me, and read the letter he had written to me, the
extreme kindness of which I immediately saw, and for which I
returned him my ardent thanks.
"As I was well aware that there were persons who wotdd
feel disappointed at the result of this affair, and who would be
tempted to put forth accounts more conformable to their wishes
than to matter of fact, I requested that his Holiness would
give me his sanction for publishing a new edition of the Pastoral,
with the substance of the declarations I had presented to him
appended, to which he graciously assented, adding, — *Take
notice that you have not been required to retract any thing.'
At the same time, he expressed his earnest wish that whatever
was calculated to excite angry feelings should be avoided as
much as possible, which I promised him should be done, as far
as I was concerned. His Holiness then presented me with a
thousand crowns in gold, to defray the expenses of my journey,
and again loaded me with the kindest caresses and the most
fervent benedictions.
" The following is a literal translation of His Holiness's letter,
written with his own hand, and delivered by him on that occa-
sion into mine : —
"*To OUR Venerable Brother, Peter Augustine Baines,
Bishop of Siga, and Vicar Apostolic in the Western
District op England.
"* Venerable Brother, — The injunction. Venerable Brother,
which with paternal charity we addressed to you in our letter
of the 16th of January of the current year, and with which,
Digitized by
Google
16S BEOOLLEGTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
your docility, religion and deference to the Holy See, caused us
to anticipate your compliance, we exceedingly rejoice in the
Lord, and cordially congratulate you that you have fiaithfully
fulfilled. For the written declarations of the 15th instant, which
you delivered to us in person, respecting the Pastoral put forth
by you on the 24th of February of the past year, satisfies, we
find, both the decision of the Select Congregation and our own
exhortations, and therefore we most willingly admit it, not
doubting that what you promise you will seasonably fulfil.
" * Go, on, therefore, Venerable Brother, to preserve the bond
of sacerdotal concord and the unity of spirit with your col-
leagues, the Vicars Apostolic and other Pastors of Souls^ and
remember the saying of St. Leo, ^that it i& our duty and
yours to establish, by. the grace of charity, what by no insidious
art of the devil may be overthrown,* In the meantime, whilst
we embrace you wi^ fatherly afiection, we most afiectionately
impart to you our Apostolical Benediction.
'^ ^ Given in Rome, at St. Peter's, the 19th of March, 1841.
«* Gregory P.P. XVI.'
" May the Prince of Pastors, Jesus Christ, reward, with his
choicest blessings, this worthy depository of His power, and
faithful imitator of His meekness and charity.
'^ On the 27th of the same month I left Home for England,
where I found that certain very erroneous and injurious state-
ments respecting these events, proceeding from persons of great
respectability, had arrived before me, and rendered indispensable
this simple narrative of facts^ May it be productive of the
peace I so earnestly desire !
''Prior Park, \9th June, 1841."
Cutting, sarcastic, triumphant, and truthful as might be the
foregoing replies to the charges so unjustly brought against him,
I could not, as a friend to Bishop Baines, but regret the tone
which pervaded them. But I must defer my own remarks as
well as some private letters from his Lordship on the best
method of raising fimds to supply the religious requirements of
England, until next month : when I shall conclude a paper
which has extended further than I had anticipated, but which I
am glad to hear, has been most interesting to the readers of the
Catholic Magazine.
(To be concluded in our next,)
Digitized by
Google
167
AVE MARIA.
When all the busy world is still
And starry beams light vale and hill,
Then all should sing on bended knee,
With solemn burst of jubilee,
Ave Maria !
When earthly sorrow brings the tear
Of anguish gushing forth to sear
Our sinking hearts — oh let us cry,
If we for consolation sigh,
Ave Maria !
And when the mantling cup of joy.
Sparkles on high without alloy,
Oh ! let us ne^er forget that word.
Once in angelic accents heard,
Ave Maria !
Oh ! Thou by whom our prayers ascend,
And with celestial anthems blend.
Our trusting hearts thine aid implore.
In those sweet words for ever more,
Ave Maria !
For thou wilt never coldly spurn
The love with which these accents bum :
And on thy bosom all may lean
The aching head — and comfort glean,
Ave Maria !
There we unveU the aspirings high.
That find on earth no sympathy,
The secret founts of burning tears,
The hope and love of other years —
Ave Maria !
And there the contrite sinner brings
The load his darkened conscience wrings.
And thy pure hand is raised to bless
And clasp him in thy sweet caress —
Ave Maria !
Digitized by
Google
168 AVE MARIA.
The weak on lifers tempestuous sea.
Star of the morning ! call on thee ;
In spirit hail thy ra<Uant form,
And ride triumphant o*er the storm —
Aye Maria !
Then, Ave, ever bright and fair !
Well doth thy brow a garland wear
More dazzling than each glorious gem
That crowns the seraph's diadem —
Ave Maria !
For thou art holier than all.
Unstained bj Adam's hapless fall :
In thee, more pure than temple, well
Our good Creator loved to dwell —
Ave Maria !
Anonymous.
DOUBLE AUTUMN.
Oh ! where are the summer months fleeted away ?
And they who made sunshine around — ^where are they ?
The seasons roll on, and they take as they roll
All that m£ide life worth having and lit up the soul.
Dost thou think future years the spent light may restore ?
Yes ; but not in this world. The heart panting of yore
Fdr all that had made life worth having is still ;
And feeling grows reconcil'd stubborn and chill.
Time was when perhaps.. ..Do not cry for the moon:
She was bright a brave plaything : she sh6ne and is gone.
Is life worth so much worry, contention and woe ?
It is passing — will pass. Heed it not. Let it go.
October Fecit.
Digitized by
Google
169
LEAVES FROM MY JOURNAL.
" The Catholic Body" — Pulling Down St. Peter's —
Hopping — Deer Stalking — The Isle of Wight — Tor-
quay— Notes and. Queries — Mockery.
September 7th. — I have just been reading an article in to-day's
^^ Catholic Standard," entiUed ^^The Catholic Body," in which
the writer laments that, of all Nonconformists to the Established
Church, English Catholics should do least to support their
churches, their schools, their colleges, their literature, and
^^ every institution or society established for their own enlighten-
ment and defence. All that the majority think they are called
upon to do," says the writer, ^^ is to hear Mass on Sundays and
attend their duties on the leading festivals of the year ;" — and
then he tells us how Churches are unfinished. Colleges bankrupt,
Reviews supported by gratuitous writers ; and all because the
^^Catholic Body" lacks organization and a spiritof worldly wisdom.
All this seems very true when stated in juKta-positioa to the
idea conveyed by the. great letters composing the words ^^ THE
CATHOLIC BODY :" but there would have been no cause for
marvel if the writer had not made a false start. No such Society
exists in England as that which he calls the Catholic Body.
There are Cadiolic Limbs ; but they are no more conglomerated
into a Catholic Body thaii were the ^^members" whien, in the
old fable, they refused to work in union with the ^^ belly."
Arms and legs, ears, eyes, and nose — each would set up for
itself; each would have an existence independent of the ^U>elly."
The fable tells us that the body human was then in a sorry
plight ; and every day's experience assures us that it was not
more sorry than is that of the so-called ^^Catholic Body." In
either case, it was brought on by conceit, jealousy and extrava-
gance.
For what can be more conceited than the very motto of the
paper that lectures us : — " In this sign," of the cross, " thou
shalt conquer." Alack ! alack ! was there ever more grievous
mistake ! The editor may and does deserve to conquer : but
had he hoisted a gridiron, as old Cobbett did ; a bible, a sceptre,
a clock, or any other figure-head, he might have known, fi'om the
fiAte of his predecessors, that he would have been much more
likely to succeed. The " Tablet," indeed, was more diffident:
— though diffidence is not the quality for which it is usually dis-
tinguished : it foresaw that it would be obliged to ask for dbarit-
able contributions from those who ought to have borne it on in
Digitized by
Google
170 LEAVES PROM MY JOURNAL.
triumph : it foresaw that, after a prolonged struggle in England,
it would have to shift its location and to seek for Irish support;
and it very properly began with an appeal to the most powerful
of intercessors to pray for it. I fear the prayer has not been
granted : as although the engraved figure is still at the head of
the paper, the scroll " Ora pro nobis" has, of late, disappeared.
And yet, as the " Catholic Standard" says. Catholics think
that they fiilfil their duties by hearing Mass on Sundays. They
would have some qualms of conscience if they knew, as I do,
how many Catholics are at work on Protestant newspapers and
periodicals, because our supineness prevents Catholio editors
from paying for their contributions. How many young men
have I knovm tempted to write slightingly of their religion in
those publications because the Catholic gentleman, merchant, or
ajtizim was too jealous, or too indifferent, or too captious to
subscribe to a publication which ^d not support his own every
pet and peculiar opinion !
We are told by the ^^ Standard" ihaXjot two of our leading
colleges, one drags on a lingering existence while the other has
been only saved by a London miUionnaire. Even so : all the
world does not know that the encumbrances on Prior Park were
moderate compared to those on Osoott : neither does all the
world know that when Mr. Raphael (after munificently giving
thirty thousand pounds to the former establishment) first met
the most distinguished of our episcopacy at dinner, not one
word on the subject was said to him during the whole evening.
An oversight, doubtless; as His Holiness has conferred an
honourable distinction in acknowledgment of the seasonable
aid.
' But on matters of foreign and domestic policy and politics,
on matters of taste, of art, of literature, of architecture, of
ecclesiastical discipline even, the ^Catholic BoDT,"a8 it is called,
is composed of so many disjointed limbs, kept together by the
one indissoluble tie of &ith ; but in all other respects, acting at
cross purposes and often in opposition.
And yet I am delighted to read in the same newspaper a
letter from Mr. Pugin, asserting that that he has never " pub-
lished nor expressed in a public manner^' his wisli to pull down
St. Peter's at Rome ; however much he may *• deplore the
existence of so bebased a church in the Capital of the Christian
world." Let us trust, therefore^ that what seem to.be the archi-
tect's private wishes may be kept yet awhile to himself, and the
church preserved for its equally ^^ debased" admirers.
8th. — ^It may be a sign of a ^^ debased" taste to prefer the
hop gardens, waving their festoons in the sun-lit •air aronnd
Digitized by
Google
LEAVES FROM MT JOUBNAL. 171
"The vine-covered hills and fair regions of France,**
where the vine is cut down like a gooseberry bush, or is trained
to a short stake, like a raspberry tree. How gracefully the
slender hop climbs up the pole, that is all concealed by its
overlapping twigs, its broad dark green leaves, and its dangling
blossoms ! How they cluster around it, like seaweeds floating
from some wave-washed rock, or cast from the brow of some
mermaid, that has dived out of sight and has lefit her green
head-gear on the strand! Far and farther stretch the long
lines of garden forest. Green leaves and green blossoms rustle
on every side, and make even the cool shade of the avenues
amongst the plants seem tinged with a reflected green. And
here, under every hedge, the labourers throng to the harvest.
London has poured out thousands of its Irish ; — wanderers,
too, who have gathered in the com harvest in other parts of
Kngland, hasten to reap a second crop, with the wages obtained
from which they may pay die rent for their miserable holdings
at home, or, better far, traverse the sea to that broad land
where no one dies of hunger. See how they eagerly press
forward — singly, in twos or threes; or there, where whole
families come on together. The father trudges first; after
him, one or two great girls limp, barefooted, along the dusty
road ; the mother toils on not £Etr behind, but bending forward
under the weight of the infiEuit, strapped, in sackcloth, upon
her back. Then comes the son, a great boy, driving a skeleton
donkey-cart, in which are the ketde, the pot to boal potatoes^
and two or three vnretched mattresses and bundles, amongst
which a sickly child lies, with pale and bloated face upturned
to the blue sky, that smiles on it in vain.
There, too, another party has made a halt under that dusty
hedge. They have collected some half vrithered branches, and
are coaxing a smoky fire to boil the pot, which is scarcely large
enough to hold half the potatoes needed to satisfy those
ravenous^looking features. For miles, the roadside is dotted
with the white ashen marks, surrounded by black borders, that
show where these fires have lately been. While down yonder,
beside the stream that flows through that cool meadow, two
or three families are washing their rags and tatters, and are
hanging them on the hedges to dry.
But not frequent, I must admit, are such signs of cleanliness.
More often, a child's head is in the lap of an elder sister or of
a mother, employed upon it, as PineUi represents a Neapolitan
group. * Though thousands and thousands press on, or loiter
under hedges, lining the roads and lanes with an almost conr
tinuous stream of human beings, who have to wait about until
Digitized by
Google
172 LEAVES VBOM MY JOURNAL^
the commencement of the hop harvest, few, very few, show
any signs of cleanliness, thought, or habits of refinement, such
as the features of the poorest might bear traces of. Bloated,
red, dissatisfied, sulky,, are the lineaments of almost every man,
woman, and child of the thousands whom I pass. Most of
them are the denizens of St. Giles's parish, and every thing
about them shows from whence they come.
The more praise, therefore, is due to the Fathers of the
Oratory, who have sent forth two of their number to minister
to these poor wayfarers, and the efiects of whose spiritual inter-
ference is observed by the planters in every district where they
appear.
And now the hop-poles are pulled from the ground and are
laid prostrate, with their fringe and swaddling clothes of leaf
and blossom; and now the pickers gather around the piles
and soon despoil them of those light green clusters that lately
waved so daintily in the breeze. Thrust into sacks, they are
carted from the ground, while the naked poles and bruised
and torn and trampled plants lie, like the mangled slain on a
field of battle.
But beautiful and poetical as look the hop gardens of Kent,
they mar the sportsman's toil in this sunny month of September.
What Vails it to beat the weU-grown turnip fields, or the
stubble newly-turned by that wondrous, cumbrous implement,
the Kentish plough ? Staunch though be the dogs, the
partridges are wild as hawks, and away they skim to the hop
covers, or lie there as securely as in hazel coppice, while the
sun shines overhead and the sportsman idly beats the fields
around. When the hops are picked, the coveys will again be
found unbroken, and again will the eager sportsman I have
been told of, fire his ramrod into the midst, as he did last year,
when ^^he skewered six on *em :" — much as Ariosto represents
Orlando to have spitted the pagans, like larks, upon his
irresistible lance. Better, far better, is it to lie beneath this
old stone wall — ^that fine old Elizabethan mansion crovming
the top of the hiU on the left hand, whence the ground falls,
in mighty terraces — once, perhaps, encumbered and disfigured
with ornamental masonry — but now sloping down, down,
beneath gigantic oak trees and unmeasurable ashes, down to
the lake and the spreading weald beyond : better, £Eir better,
to lie beside this crumbling wall, and, with unerring rifle in
hand, mark the stately deer, as they are driven near us by the
keeper — ^tossing their antlered heaids, or looking suspiciously
on every side to see where their dreaded foe may lurk ; better
far to lie beside this crumbling wall and note how the old. ones
of the herd, whom experience has told wherefore they are
Digitized by
Google
LEAVES FROM MY JOURNAL. 173
collected from the shady glens of the park, crowd together in
the centre, where no ball can hit them without endangering
others, while the younger beauties trot unsuspiciously on the
outside, and seem proud to show off their graceful limbs and
tiny heads, innocuous to the rifle they are not yet old enough
to tempt. Tell us not, old friend, Izaak Walton, of the pleasures
of angling : beside what stream didst thou ever find scenery
more peaceful, trees more noble, than these ; and where is the
shoal of trout, grayling, or salmon, to be compared to the
stately herd that prances before me beneath the chequered
shade ? If thou dost not own this, old Izaak, thou knowest no
more of the kingly art of yenerie than did the studious friend
who lately whispered to the butler,
'^Harding; your master is going to send me a side of venison ;
pray see that they do not forget to send the giblets."
12th. — ^But I might not tarry amid scenes which " Leather-
stocking" of "La longue carabine" might have envied. Let
me turn to another " garden of England," and admire the
beautiful Southampton water and the far-famed Isle of Wight.
How brightly the little waves danced in the brighter sun !
How gracefully those wooded shores sloped down to the
water^s edge ! How snug looked the white villas amid their
tufted bowers: how gloomy the walls of the old abbey of
Netley, which modem taste has transformed into a tea-garden !
" If it's not profanation, it's * coming it strong,*
And I really consider it's all very wrong,"
wrote the late Rev. Mr. Barham thereanent. But on, on paddles
the lively little steamer. Calshot Castle is left in its loneliness ;
Gowes has opened the busy Medina to our view : we hug the
shores of the island, and pass beneath the sea palace of our
Ocean Queen. Osborne House looms darkly at uie top of the
hill| overshadowed by the two ugly towers &at royal taste has
superadded to it. Surely never since the times oi Babel were
people so bent upon tower building ! We are raising a mighty
one adjoining the new Houses of Parliament, for no other
reason, as the late Lord Holland declared, than that, once
upon a time, a certain people said, '^ Go to ; let us build a
tower :" it may,however, typify a confusion of tongues underneath :
without the means of adequately supporting our priests, we are
building steeples to every church — excepting to St. George's
Cathedral : — and the Queen is here following or guiding the
national taste, by making her own especial country-house look
as if it sprung from a cross between a brewery and a gasometer.
^nd-atHEfcydc;, also, is a church with a tower, on which no
expense has been spared. It is a beautiful building, in the
o
Digitized by
Google
174 LEAVES FBOlf MT JOURNAL.
early Norman style, and havingy with the presbytery, been
xaised and endowed by one indiyidual, (the Lady Clare), I
quarrel not with the costliness of the execution. It is only
when I see the pennies and shillings, contributed by those who
have had to earn them, expended in ornament, rather than in
church space and in schools, that I question the justice, as
well as the wisdom, of the appropriation.
My guide and cicerone asked me to read and explain to her
some letters, in old Saxon characters, carved, in double lines,
round the arch of the doorway. The smoke of the packet
returning irom Portsmouth curled up in the distance, announcing
that I had but an hour to spare ; I excused myself, therefore,
on the plea that it was not intended that ^^ those who nm
should read:" and that such words were only allowed to be
read sitting —
" Like the verbum Grsecum,
Spermagoraiolekitholakanopolidays,*
Words that ought only to be said upon holidays,
When one has nothing else to do."
' I hastened back to the beautifal pier, three-quarters of a mile
long, from the end of which I contemplated the thriving town,
described by Smelfungus SmoUett as a fishing village at which
he could only land by being carried through Ae mud on men's
shoulders. The packet quickly steamed alongside ; and through
the waters, freshened up by a fine afternoon's breeze, we glanced
and paddled and glided as lightly as the round-backed por-
poises tumbling amid the waves beside us ;
How blissful the leap of the porpoise seem'd
' As it rose on the dancing sea ! .
Its fine fat sides in the sun light gleam'd
As it tumbled joyously.
Oh ! who would not like on a porpoise's back
Around the world to roam ?
I never would ask for a livelier hack
To ride on the ocean foam !
] 5th. — ^When 1 was travelling through Kent and Hampshire,
it was taken for granted that I was a ^^ gent'' employed to visit
the hop grounds by governmental or other interest ; and enjoy-
ing the assumed character, I talked learnedly of how I had
measured hops three and a half inches in length and of the
* 29rfp/iayopaioXcx(^oXaxayoR'«i>X(dcf. FromtheLiBistiataof Aristophaaes,
▼.458.
Digitized by
Google
LEAVES FROM MY /OURNAL. 175
amoQDt of doty that would have to be piedd. I am now at Tor>-
quay where reUgum is the oxKt tsfaakracteristio of the place:
where Bishop Pbillpotts on one side of the town urges on to
high Olmroh-of^EnglandisB), and Tor Abbej on the opposite
side gentljr.woos to Oatholicism by elegance, fstshion, gaiety,
and its quiet little Catholic chapel where piety may find itself at
home. I am assured, that, during last winter, it really grew
into the fashion for ladies and gentlemen to become Catholics,
so impressed seemed all the world with the spirit of the onward
movement and so thtnoughly aware that it could have but one
tenninAtion.
Three and twenty yeais have glided away since i last walked
from* our Bath House near the pret^ retired batihing cove,
passed along iPiying Pan Row^ where dwelt Mrs. Edward Gary
with her neice and the beautiful Miss Hodgson, both of whom
bad inspired me with a sudden ta^e for marbles and madrHpores
that we picked up as we sauntered along the beaoh;^ — ^three land
twenty yeaors have elapsed since I pasi»ed along ^^ Frying Fan
Row,^^ and over l£e then thicklyp wooded mount, now studded with
villas, that separates the town from the avenue*planted fields df
Tor Abbey, and knelt iti its peaceM chapel. And now again I
kneel here, and the happy past masses itself into oneness ; and,
with all its events and ^1 its happiness, seems as the act of a
play that has been played' out, or ^ ifae voliime of a novel that
has been read* Is not the nbvbl<ended ? / Is there to be another
act to the play i When I was last he^e, life had not yet'begun :
and now ;Close the vohime ! Put out'the lights !
And the friend of mythenT>ojrbood-Mfte«Rev. Mr. M^Ennery
— ^how merrily and how seientMeally : we lighted up the told
caverns with blue lights and staulbied and inbralked over ante-
diluvian bones and some petrifiedmoss that he declared to be
the wig of Moses ! How gaify we cantered to the fishing vil-
lages around the bay, and baptized the poor people^s children;
and then dined with therm on apple^pudding hid under Devon-
shire cream ; intermingling the whole with religion^ or contro-
versial or scientific udk!' He is dead; and his museum is
dispersed; and the descriptive book of it that he was about to
publish, may turn up hereafter amid the relics of the present
world, but will never be seen until then.
A correspondent of the publication entitled "Notes and
Queries'' is, I perceive, about to collect a museum of such old-
world antiquities ; and, fearful of making a false start, asks the
editor of the paper
" Who was SoUingen ?*'*
* SolUngen is a town in Westphalia ; the blades manufactured at which
are as famous as those of Damascus.
o 2
Digitized by
Google
176 LEAVES FROM MY JOURNAL.
and the learned editor, instead of replying ^^ He was a partner
of Damascus in the sword trade ; the one made sharps and the
other blunts;'* or gruffly answering **Dam-(it why do you) -
ask-us — we know nothing about it," publishes the query as
innocently as it is asked ! ! Oh these Jonathan Oldbucks and
Edie Ochiltrees !
" What perils do environ
The man that meddles with cold iron."
Will the editor of the ^^Notes and Queries'* be pleased to tell me
by what right it is recorded on the tomb of Louis Phillippe that
he was ^'Bex Francorum ?" The Franks, methinks, are a wider
race than he ever ruled over. We no longer claim to be sove-
reigns of France ; and I see not why a French king should
assume to be King of Frangistan.
But a stranger has entered the coffee-room and addresses the
waiter : he looks like a Oatholic, or perhaps he is only a Pusey*
ite; and, having heard that this is Ember week, wishes to
comply with the rule of abstinence without knowing to what
days it is restricted : —
" Waiter !" he says : " can I have fish for dinner ?**
" Why, sir ;" replies the waiter ; " our boatmen do not trawl
on Sundays : but we have mock turde soup.''
Did he know that real turtle was fish and think that mock
turtle would do as well ? Or did he think that Puseyism was a
mock Catholicity ? Or did he mock at the whole question ?
I remember when I was last at Haore an Englishman, who
was most anxious to have a mock turtle soup, vainly endea-
voured, for a long time, to describe how it was made. He said that
it was made of ^'t^te" of something, but could no more remember
the French for calf than could the hero of the Editor of the
^^ Catholic Magazine" for last month remember the French for
^^ bull.'' At last, however, he clasped his ovm head vdth his
hands, and said it was made widi '^a t^te-a-tdte comme 9a —
a head like this."
"Oh je comprends: une tdte de veau!" said the waiter : "I
understand now : a calf s head I"
Digitized by
Google
177
THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
WRITTEN AT THE REQUEST OF HER BELOVEB GRANDMOTHER,
THE LADY BETHUNE OP LINCLUDEN : COMMENCED THE IST
DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 1753.
C Continued from page 128.^
September 18. — I wished for some stirring event to vary the
quiet routine of my life, — some incident to give interest to my
DIARY. Truly I have had both. How much a day may bring
forth, how little can we judge by the present hour what may
happen the next ! Had any one told me, two days ago, that
this morning I should be galloping over the country, ere break
of day, I should have scouted such a wild idea. But let me return
to yesterday, and tell all that befell me. I did stop my writing
to go and see my grandmother, and never had I time to resume
it : as yet, the events are fresh in my memory, and whilst they
are so I will note them down, commencing where I did leave off.
I proceeded to my grandmother's room ; she kissed me
tenderly, and gave me her blessing, and hung round my neck a
very magnificent jewelled necklace.
After remaining a short space with her, I proceeded to the
garden, to tell the gardener to send some of his best fruit in to
breakfast. This is a French fashion, which my Lord Derwent-
water has taught us, aud which we do much affect. Whilst in
the garden, my Lord D. joined me, and, kindly greeting me,
wished me many happy years, and that during their course I
would sometimes bestow a thought on my old playmate, Charley
Batcliffe, who would never forget Mount Baliol, and the happy
time spent there. He then acquainted me that there was no
prospect of his affairs in this country mending. His principal
estates, the value of which Sir Richard told me is immense,
government has seized. That he is rightful heir to the title, no
one can deny. The proofs are too clear to admit of a shade of
doubt ; but that title is attainted, and he cannot bear it, nor even
show himself openly in bis native country ; for his name is one
of the exceptions to the pardon ; and the usurper's government
is too needy to be able to forgive a man whose first act, on
being pardoned, would be to dispute its right to endow hospitals
with his fortune.
^^ In short, Miss Baliol, nought remains for me now but to
return to France, and there, in the excitement of a soldier's life,
to try and blot out the remembrance of the gleam of sunshine
which, since I have known you, has shone upon my dark and
Digitized by
Google
178 THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
solitary path. You I can never forget ; but I must think of yon
now as one so immeasurably removed from me, that it were
madness to attempt to annihilate the distance that separates
us. I shall look up to you as a guardian angel to incite
me to noble deeds, that you may never blush in after years
to hear the name*of the man that loves you: not, as I did, till
Kilmaine brought a death-blow to my hopes, not as a ministering
angel to my comfort and pride in life, to share with me the
coronet I hoped to lay at your feet." He was going away !
Leaving Scotland to return no more ! ! I longed for the power
to bid him remain, and share the fortune tbat would be joyless
without him. But speak I could not. I felt sick at heart, and
must have fallen to the ground had not his arm supported me.
^^ I should not have remained to-day but at the urgent request
of your brother ; for, believe me, the longer I remain neajr you,
the more I see of you, the harder will be the effort to tear
myself from you, the greater the misery when gone."
I know not exactly what I said, nor how it came to pass, but
this I do know, and I thank heaven whilst I write it, that ere we
left the garden, he had promised not to leave Scotland for some
time longer, and I had promised that when he did so, I wotdd
accompany him as his wife ! How my heart beats in writing
these two words — his wife ! . Was ever a girl more supremely
happy ! I cannot believe it, for never did one gain a truer or
nobler heart.
With many apologies for its unworthiness, he begged of me
to accept of a little patch box as a gage d^amour. He told me
that it might find favour in my sight, as it had formerly belonged
to Madame de Sevigne, and her cypher is on it. It is composed
of embossed gold, with a little looking-glass on the top encircled
by brilliants, on the bottom a coronet and cypher. When I
hesitated to accept of it on account of its great value, he
laughed merrily at my sc]:uples, and requested to know if I rated
his heart of less value which I had just accepted. I smiled,
and somehow the word exchanged passed my lips. He took my
hand, and^ raising it to his lips, he thanked me for that amend-
ment on his speech ; ^^ but if an exchange be necessary, give
me that ring which you always wear, and which I shall ever
faithfully guard."
It was a signet ring, an antique which my dear Father used
to wear. Hastily, drawing it from my finger I put it on his.
^^ What is the subject ?" he said, looking at it
^^ Can you not decipher it. The eternity of love in the soul,
we say it means. Cupid holding a butterfly, and encircled by a
serpent."
" That is not it. To me it looks like Hymen ; but why the
inverted torch ?" he replied.
Digitized by
Google
THE DUBT OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL^ 179
I started^ and with dismay now remembered that yesterday
I was playing with Madge^s rings, and had taken one of her's as
a pledge of her return, giving her my own one in exohange. They
were so much alike that I had not remembered this when I gave
it away, and alas ! it was a mourning ring : the genius of life
with folded wings and inverted torch, typifying death: — and this
was the ring of out bethrothal ! — and again the gipsy^s warning
oame across my mind ; and, agitated beyond expression, I felt
the hot tears coursing each other down my cheeks, whilst I
explained to him the fatal mistake — ^the fearful omen.
Never shall I forget how kindly he opnsoled me ; how gently
he chid my superstition ; how gaily he read the image on the
ling, which was Hymen with his inverted torch, having no farther
use for it, and meant that I wai? his till death ; that, in fact, a
more suitable espousing ring could not have been chosen.
But the time had passed more quickly than we could have
imagined, and I heard the horn sounding for breakfast, ere it
seemed to me we had been five minutes in the garden.
We agreed to tell our engagement to nione, to*day, and as
much as possible to act as if none lexisted between us ; and then
we hurried away : luckily, the little postern-door being open,
I entered without meeting any one, and he told me he was
equally fortunate ; and so, after running up stairs to my room to
efiaee from my eyes the traces of emotion, when I got to the
breakfjGLSt table I found I was by no means the last. I fear I
made many mistakes during the break&st ; but at last I was
recalled to my senses by hearing my brother say : — " You must
pardon luy sister, my Lord ; her birthday luckily occurs only
once a year, on odier days she is really a reasonable being.''
^^ What have I done ?" I asked in amaze.
" Merely told Lord George, when he asked if the pastie before
you was venison or moor-game, that you were quite well, and
again that these plums are from our garden. I pass oyer the
tnfling mistakes of giving no sugar to my chocolate, and empty-
ing the cream-jug into the sugar-basin." I joined in the laugh
at my own expense, and lucidly made no more mistakes.
• Soon after breakfast, the gentlemen departed to beat the woods
in search of game, and we ladies proceeded to divert ourselves
after our own fancy. Lady Stirling and Mrs. Hunter accom-
panied my dear grandmother to see some new improvements in
the kitchen, and the young ladies began discussing the new
modes, whether the short aprons were as becoming as the
long, the reported marriages, and when they were going to
Edinburgh, where I believe we all meet in winter. I must
own I took little interest in the matter. I was too much oc-
cupied in thinking over the scene of the garden to heed, as I
might otherwise have done, the announcement of the fact that
Digitized by
Google
180 THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
Lady Clerk was to be gayer this winter than last, as she was to
introduce her second daughter ; neither did 1 care whether Mrs.
Elliot returned to India with her husband, as some thought she
would, or remained at home with his fieither, now an old man. 1
rejoiced when Miss Murray proposed that we should take a
walk and see the garden : accordingly we got our hoods and
capuchins and proceeded there. I know I played my part
badly, for I could not still the beatings of my heart when pass-
ing the spot where so lately I received the vows of Lord Der-
wentwater, and had in return plighted my own.
Lucy GrsBme could not assist me to amuse my guests, and I
feel well assured they were getting very tired, when I saw Madge
Murray coming along the pleached walk, and knew that she
would assist me. I named her to my young friends, for save
Lucy, she knew none of them, and told her that she must help
me, and very soon she had them laughing, for she described so
funnily that it was owing to an accident that had befallen her
that morning, that she had come six hours sooner than she
intended. She had just mounted her own chesnut to take a
gallop to the gate, when lo ! it put its foot on a stone, and down
diey both came.
" Then you acknowledge having been thrown ?" said Miss
Murray, with a sneer.
" Acknowledge having been thrown ? Yes, fifty times at least.
I would not ride a horse that could not throw me ; but this time
we both fell together, luckily I was uppermost ; but I found my
poor Bright Star had hurt her shoulder, and was not able for
more to-day, so I had to take Harry's gray, and he is no arm
chair to sit, especially on a rough road ; so instead of galloping
across in time for the first dance with my cousin Dick," and
here she gave a glance at Miss Murray, " I was obliged to bring
Prince Rupert as quietly over as his excitable nature would
permit. As we passed the Spring Well Muir, I met a party of
sportsmen and left Harry with Sir Richard, so I had the felicity
of riding to the stable with our steeds ; as I led Harry's — "
" And had you no groom ?" said Miss Murray."
" To what purpose ? — to pick up the pieces if I fall and pre-
serve the pattern ? Harry will do that, and I had as lieve go
in the family coach at once, with the coachman on the box, my
own woman inside, two footman behind and a couple of out-
riders ; all very fine indeed, but most fearfully in the way.
Suppose Harry and I make a wager who will fiist return to a
given point by each riding a circle ? — what is the groom to do
— ^race after me, or fly after Harry, or remain stationary ? But
let me not forget to tell you, Martha, the sport has been so good
that Sir Richard begged of me to announce his speedy return.
Digitized by
Google
THE DIABT OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL. 181
and his hope that after that^ the ladies will permit them to accom-
pany them in their walk."
They did soon return and planned a walk to an old ruin at the
end of our park. I was unable to go having household matters to
arr&nge at home, but Madge promised to take my place and tell
them the legend connected with it, which she averred to know
better than I did, and in truth I believe her, as she has a rare
knack of collecting all the old legends of the country.
But my household affairs were little attended to, for I found
that my Lord D. had also managed to escape the walking party
under some pretence, and so we sat together in the oriel room
and talked of the happy future which is before us. I must de-
scribe the dress I wore for it was much commended. Instead of
the rose coloured taffetas which I had resolved to wear, my
grandmother had ordered for me from Mistress Needle, — a very
rich white and silver brocaded satin which was made in the
newest fashion, looped up to show my petticoat which was of
pale blue satin. My trimmings and ruffles were the finest point
— my hair was powdered, for as it has a shade of the Baliol red
in it, powder is no small addition to the adornment of my toilet.
My woman. Mistress Alice Lambskin, is the most skilfiil hair
dresserthat ever was, and truly, vanity apart, when she had finished
her labours and put on my cap, and I had added my patches, I
was not altogether unpleasing to behold. To-night, at least, I
thought I shall not appear to such disadvantage by his side.
But when Lucy Graeme came to see me, alas, how poor was my
appearance beside her radiant loveliness ! — who that had eyes
but must contrast the difference between that picture and this !
She was attired in a plain white satin negligee, with cherry
coloured trimmings, and a petticoat of peach blossom and gold
brocade. She wore no powder, but the natural loveliness of her
sunny brown curls was seen in all its beauty. Her neck and
arms boasted of no adornment save that which nature had given
them, whilst mine were sparkling in gems ; for in addition to the
necklace my grandmother gave me, my uncle had presented me
with bracelets to match. In one respect only were we alike —
we both wore the little Flanders lace caps, which my brother
had presented to us. I could not raise my eyes from contem-
plating Lucy, she looked so lovely beyond expression; but
whilst I regarded her in mute admiration, she spoke in high
terms in praise of my appearance, and told Mistress Alice she
might be proud of her skill, for never had she seen any one
more becomingly attired — more fitted in every way to be
queen of the ball. Whilst we were talking, Madge entered ; she
shares my room, but had been busy with Harry, who occupies
Alice's chamber^ for Madge never will consent to be separated
Digitized by
Google
182 THE DIART OF HABTHA BETHUNB BALIOL.
fiftr from him. She complimented both, and yoved dmt we
were rearmed with deadly intentions.
*^ Pray don't wait for me,'' she said, ^^if you wish to proceed
to the scene of action, for I have yet to see that Harry's hair
looks well when powdered — if not, he shan't wear it ; but his
heart is set upon powder, as Sir Richard wears his that way,
and his valet is now with him."
Accordingly we did not wait, but proceeded to the drawing-
room, where we found my grandmother, Lord D., and Sir
Richard only. Lady Linduden and Sir Richard were loud in
their praises of the bec(»ning nature of our toilet. My Lord D.
said nothing, but his eyes were eloquent, and in them I read
that he did not regret or repent the choice he had made. And
truly I had reason to be proud of his appearance, for scorning
the fashion of the usurper's court, he wore the dress that a
gentleman appeared in, when the Stuarts were on the throne.
It consisted of a doublet of blue velvet with slashed sleeves, the
collar covered by a band of the finest lace, over which fell his
long love-locks : his short cloak worn over one shoulder was of
Uue velvet with gold embroidery, and lined with white satin ;
his breeches were of blue velvet, slashed vrith white ; his stockings
white with gold clocks ; his shoes of blue velvet, with large white
roses, with a diamond centre to each. In his hand, he held a
broad-leafed Flemish hat, with a rich band and a large plume
of white feathers, fastened in by a diamond aigrette. A Spanish
rapier hung by his side from a superb baldric, which was worn
sashvnse over the right shoulder. Truly had a queen been his
choice rather than a simple Scottish maiden, she would have
derived honour from one on whom nature had lavished her
choicest gifts, though fortune had proved less kind. He pointed
out to me that he was in my colours, and then first I perceived
that, by mere chance, the dresses of each were blue and white.
He told us that at the ball he had lately been to at Versailles^ he
had been requested to wear an English costume, and therefore, out
of compliment to the king (his cousin), he had chosen the dress
worn at the time of his majesty's kinswoman, the beautiful
Queen Henrietta.
My brother was in a court dress. Truly neither court nor
costume are improved by the change. His coat was of purple
velvet, with gold embroidery; a long flapped embroidered
waistcoat hung down and met his scarlet silk stockings, vnth
gold clocks, which came so high above his knees as to conceal
his breeches. He had large hanging cuffs, and very beautiful
Flanders lace ruffles and cravat; his shoes were of black
leather, with square toes, red heels, and very magnificent
diamond buckles. He wore a small sword, with a jewelled
Digitized by
Google
THB DIABT OF MARTHA BVTHUNS BALIOL. 193
hilt ; and in his hand he held bid small thtee ooniered hat, laced
with gold galloon and trimmed with feathers, and powder in
his hair. Although beside my Lord D.'s dress, his looked stiff
and formal, he himself bore well the comparison, and two
handsomer men you would look for in vain. My Lord D. was
dark as a foreigner, while my brother has the blue eyes, fair
complexion, and sunny hair of the Scandinavian heroes, whom
we boast as our ancestors on the Bethune side. Harry and
Madge were the next to enter. I am glad to say that Harry
did not wear powder ; his own rich chestnut curls suited him
much better. His dress was a plain green velvet one, laced
with gold, and a black solitaire, worn loosely round his neck,
allowed the beauty of his tail boyish throat to be well seen.
Madge's dress, the most unstudied, was not the least be-
coming. It was of white lutestring, with bunches of flowers
embroidered on it in their natural colours. The boddice had
a very long peak, with a stomacher, and a partlet of fine lace ;
the petticoat was rt)se coloured ; her shoes white, with diamond
buckles ; and the ringlets of her black hair, in which she wore
a white rose, her only ornament, fell on her snowy neck.
Harry's extasies at the sight of the brilliantly lighted hall
and chalked floor were long and loud. The others then began
to arrive, but so quickly did one entree follow another, that I
had no longer time to note the dresses. Amongst others
was Miss Peggie Paterson ; and there being some dragoons
quartered near, my brother had judged it best to ask them (he
having been a king's soldier, as they unjustly term him).
Accordingly some of the dragoons appeared, and one of them
was Captain Mucklewham: he was named to me, as indeed
they all were ; he is quite different from what T had expected.
Not in the least good looking ; but though a sidier roy, he has
a soldierly port and presence, and although the son of a Glasgow
weaver, he is not unlike a gentleman. My grandmother shook
hands with him and congratulated him on having gained the
heart of Peggie Paterson. He thanked her, and made some
speech about being a willing captive.
^^ Ah," said Madge to my brother, and so loud that I blushed
for fear that Captain Mucklewham might hear her, ^^ Ah, we
can forgive Hawley's dragoons if they follow the example of
their valiant leader in his admiration of us. Few generals
reverse the old song, and say as he did,
' I could not love you, love, so much,
Did I love honour more/"
The sets then began to form, and I felt not a little nervous
when Lord D. led me to the top of the room. I could not
Digitized by
Google
184 THE DIABT OF MARTHA BETHtTNE BALIOL.
but hear the hum of admiration which greeted him as we
walked along the room, and which did not diminish when they
saw his dancing. We first walked a minuet. There were
several couples besides ourselves. Sir Richard presented his
hand to Madge to lead her forth, but she refused to dance this
time, as she kindly said she wished to admire me. My dear
brother seemed to be gratified by her speech, and pressed her
no more. The Lady Lincluden begged of him then to secure
the hand of Miss Murray. ^^ No,'' he replied, ^^ I do not dance,
unless it be with Madge;'' but seeing my grandmother look
distressed, he said, *^ I will please her yet more ; I will get
Crentle Georgie (my Lord George) for a partner to her, and he
is the best dancer that I know ;" and, suiting the action to the
word, he crossed to where Lord George stood, who presently
after was seen leading out Miss Murray.
About the middle of the CTening, I was standing in the
corridor, near the door of the small drawing-room, and con-
cealed by the curtain which hung across the door, and was
witness of a scene which occasioned me much pain of heart,
and which is yet unexplained to me. Madge Murray and
my Lord D. entered, and looking round to see that none were
present save themselves, they set down on the settee and began
talking very earnestly, but in so low a tone of voice that I
could not hear a word that either said, but I saw Madge take
a letter firom the folds of her boddice and present it to Lord
Derwentwater. He took it eagerly ; she made some remark,
which I could but guess the nature of, for he coloured and for
a moment looked embarrassed, but speedily recovered ; she gave
him her hand, which he raised to his lips, and then Miss
Murray and Captain Mucklewham entered, and I, sick at heart
•with all I had seen, turned away and walked down the corridor.
Kilmaine met me, and told me they were forming a country
dance, and he was looking for Miss Graeme, who had been
dancing with Harry Broughton. We entered the dancing-
room, and at the door we met Madge and Harry.
^^Miss Graeme is talking to Lady Linduden," said Madge
to Kilmaine, who hurried away to find her. " Martha," she
continued, "will you dance this time with Harry. But you are
tired, you look so pale. Never mind dancing with Harry, I am
.sure you are tired."
"No," I replied, "I am quite able to dance."
** Then remember, Harry, go to the top of the dance beside
my partner," and we entered the room. Lord D. offered
Madge his hand, and we walked to the top of the room, but
there we found Miss Murray and Captain Mucklewham. They
gave place to Harry and me only.
Digitized by
Google
THE BIART OF MARTHA Bl^THUNB BALIOL; 185
^^ I Stand next my cousin, Miss Marray,^ said Madge.
'^Pardon me, we were here first, and shall remain. You
must stand below us,^' said Miss Murray.
^^ You flatter yourself highly if you think a Broughton will
ever yield to a Kilmaine," said Madge proudly.
*^ Captain Mucklewham, I hope you will maintain your post,
and yield it to none,'" said Miss Murray.
He bowed, but looked disconcerted.
"What!" said Madge, "do you think one of Hawley's
dragoons will stand his ground and a white rose so near," and
she pointed to the one in her hair. "Remember Falkirk ! "
" Bloodie CuUoden remembered it well," he replied haughtily.
" Captain Mucklewham," said Lord D., " my partner^s place
is next to her cousin : do you mean to give it ? "
I know not what he might have done ; I think he was inclined
to yield, but at that moment, unfortunately, the white rose from
Madge^s hair fell at his feet.
" The white rose has yielded its place," said Miss Murray.
^^ Holloa Madge, there's your bonny white rose at a sidier
roy's feet," said Harry, in the same breath.
^^ Never !" cried Lord Derwentwater and Madge impetuously.
Lord D. picked it up and presented it to her ; and I could not
help feeling a thrill of pleasure when I saw that he did not
retain the flower.
"Nearer my heart than everl" said Madge, sticking it in
the boddice of her dress.
"Do you mean to give us our place ?" said Lord Derwent-
water.
"I yield my place to none," said Captain Mucklewham;
** and die white rose fell at my feet."
Lord D. looked as if he could have hurled him from the
spot, and bit his lip to keep in the fierce reply which rose to it,
but glancing at his sword he said, quiedy, " Let us not forget
that we are in the presence of ladies, and must not disturb
them with our quarrels."
" You may find that the white rose — ^" said Madge, and then
she suddenly stopped.
"Your pardon, Miss Murray," said Captain Mucklewham,
bowing.
" The white rose had rather be the first in the batde than
in the brangle; there it will never give place to Hawley's
dragoons. And now. Master Edwardes, shall we go see this
dance from the other side? You are unfortunate in your
tune, Captain Mungo Mucklewham; it being 'Up and riq awa,
Hawley,'" said Madge.
"No, Madge," I said decidedly, "C^^ptain Mucklewham may
Digitized by
Google
186 THS DURT OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
rest assured that no such tune will be played whilst he is our
guest*'
Captain M. bowed his thanks and Lord D. smiled his approval
of mj speech, and the music beginning, it was ** Off she goes.''
Harry and I led down the dance, and Madge and Lord D.
walked away. I was so distressed during the whole dance,
thinking what would be the consequences of the s6ene, that
great was my surprise to see Madge and Lord D. standing,
^king as unconcernedly as if nothing unusual had occurred.
As soon as the country dance was over, Harry and I crossed
the room to where Madge stood.
. " Oh Madge," said he, " what brave sport a ball is. Whom
can I get next to dance with ? "
"What would you have more? you have danced with the
beauty and the queen of the ball," replied Madge.
" But Martha is going away now, and I must haye some-
body. Come yourself, Madge ; I like you better than any one.
Hurrah ! a Highland reel. Come, Madge, come," and he led
her away, leaving me with Lord D.
" Do you know," said he in a whisper, " that Miss Murray
knows our secret ?"
"Madge ! How?" I exclaimed, thinking on the scene I had
00 lately seen in the small drawing-room.
" Why," he replied, smiling, " she saw your ring, or rather,
1 believe, her own, on my finger, and at once taxed me with
the fajQt ; and good sood), mistress mine, I was too proud of
haTiog won you, too happy when she styled me cousin, to seek
to deny what honours me so much. But I told her that she
only is in our confidence, and I know we may rely on her.
"How come you to know that so well ?" I inquired, for all
this did not explain about the letter.
"Because," he answered quietly, "I have known her tried
in matters of life and death."
At that moment Captain M. crossed near ns. The look that
he and my lord gave each other I shall never forget, but not a
word was spoken by either.
I felt miserable and longed for the ball to be at an end,
that I might consult with my brother. At last supper was
announced, and I was handed to it by Lord Derwentwater.
When it was over, we returned to ike ball-rooin and changed
partners no more, consequentfy^the i*est of the evening I w^ts
my lord's partner. On leaving the room it chanced ibaX Lord
D., not peiieeiving that I was near, strode up tb Captain M.,
and touching the hilt of his sword, said the single word,
"7b-morrofr.2"
"I shall be at your service," replied Captain M., and imme-
Digitized by
Google
THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL. 187
diateir they separated. But I had no opportunity of speaking
with my brother.
After Alice had left me Madge entered ; she had been sitting
with her brother, listening to his raptures about the ball till he
fell asleep, and oow she came to me.
^^ Martha," she said, smiling archly, ^^the next time you
change rings with any one pray let it be your own ring, and
not mine, £at you give," and then she flung her arms round
me, and folding me to her heart, she congratulated me on the
prospect before me.
" Tell me how you found it out, Madge ?" I said.
'^ I guessed thei« was something when - Lord D. was so
anxious to know the weight of a very inferior stag, that he
could not join the walking party, as I knew you were too busy.
Eh, Mat, and when I saw my riiig on his finger I was certain.^'
^^ And what were you saying to him in the small drawing-
room ?" I inquired.
" Where were you ? " she said hastily.
^^ I was outside, and saw all."
" Saw all ! All what ? " said Madge.
** I saw you give him a letter, Madge."
^^And what then? Surely you are not so foolish as to be
unhappy because the man who is plighted to you receives a
letter from your cousin. I thank heaven, if I have a man^s
heart, as Miss Peggie says (would it were tnie in one sense),
at least there is no room in it for the woman's fEUling, jealousy.
Martha, it is unworthy of you, and most undeserved by Lord
D. My dear burdalane, you are incapable of appeciating
the truth of his character if for one instant you allow a doubt
of him to poisbn your mind. Yes, I did give him a letter, and
what the contents of that letter were I frankly tell you I shall
not reveal; but if you are what I take you to be, you will at
once crush the hideous image now rising in your heart> believe
Lord Derwentwater to be all that you wish, and believe that
Madge Murray would die sooner than harm you, and, with all
her faults, is incapable of attempting to steal a heart given to
you.".
^^I will believe it^ Madge; come what may, I shall never
agsun doubt either of you. It is too pleasant, in this Case, to
obey, to wish to do otherwise," and I returned her caresses.
^^But oh, Madge>" t said, after a moment's pau^e, ^^this
quarrd with Captain Mncklewham. What is' to be done?" '
" Done ! nothing. He will apologise, you may be sure. He
could afford to bluster before us, knowing Ihat Lord D. would
not quarrel in the drawing-room ; when alone there will be a
difference."
Digitized by
Google
188 THB DIARY OF MARTHA BBTHUNB BALIOL.
^^ Ab, Madge» would I ooald thiuk so, but I fear that will
not be/' and then I told her the words that I had heard pass
between them.
Madge smiled scornfully. ^* In that case, I think there is
every reason to expect a vacancy in Hawley's dragoons. Fancy
the impudence of the son of a weaver presuming to cross
swords with the Lord Derwentwater. Truly it will do him
some good to lose a little of that blood which makes him so
malapert."
^^ Madge! Madge P' I said, in an agony of distress, '^bow
can you talk thus lightly of such an av^fiil thing ! ^
^^ Awful ! Bless the child, does she fancy Charley Ratcliff
never crossed a sword before now, and he with a beard on his
chin — I craye your pardon, he wears monstachios. Poor
Peggie Paterson might term it an awful thing did she know
all. Lord D. is scarce the man to forgive an insult offered in
your presence. Why how now?" seeing me rising hastily.
" What is t he matter ? Whither away ? "
^^ Since you will not advise with me how this may be put an
end to, I must go to those who will — my dear brother," I said.
*^ Stop one moment and listen to me. If Lord Derwentwater
has been insulted, he must punish the offender. Sir Richard
will tell you that no gentleman can interfere to preyent a
meeting."
" And so," I replied bitterly, " Lord D. must be sacrificed
to avenge a silly quarrel provoked by you."
^^My dear Martha, I forgive you the unkindness of your
speech, knowing that it has no foundation. I drew No. 2,
consequently my place was second in the dance. Miss Murray
took my place, and her partner supported her. I do not blame
him, but she it was who provoked the quarrel, and so let
Mungo look to himself for supporting an unjust claim. Lord
Derwentwater wo'nt forget. bloodie CuUoden."
** Ah, Madge," I replied, •* you do not love him, or you could
not thus talk of exposing him to danger :" and the tears, I could
no longer restrain, ran down my cheeks.
" No :" she said, laughing, ** I do not; but even then.. but
dry your tears, Martha. You think Lord D's life in danger. 1
do not: I don't think the same of Mungo's, but he provoked
the attack."
*^ Madge, think how dreadful, if murder be the end of a siUy
quarrel between two girls for a place in a dance ! If my brother
cannot assist me I will go to my grandmother. The sin of
murder shall not be on his soul if I can prevent it."
" And how can my dear old grannie help it ?" '
*^ At least she will try, since you will not."
Digitized by
Google
THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL. 189
^' Will not ! bless you I have been arranging a pla^ this half
hour. Now," she said, seriously — ^^ are you willing to put a
stop to this meeting."
" Can you doubt it, Madge ? only try me."
" I will. Captain Mucklewham will be in no hurry to rise,
he is too good a trooper to shame his commander in that respect,
consequently the chances are that the meeting does not take
place till after breakfast. Ere then. Captain M. may have
received orders to mount and go : but to ensure that, it is neces-
sary that you should assist me — are you willing ?"
" Yes !" I replied, steadily.
^^ You must immediately ride across to the hall and see my
father."
" Oh Madge ! I cannot do that."
" Then I cannot stop this meeting," she answered, deter-
minedly.
" I must then try others."
" Do so, but they will fail, and it will then be too late to try
this. No, Martha, believe me I know of no other plan. Sir
Richard cannot interfere. If your grandmother does, then is
Lord D. branded as a coward. This way it can never be known
— unless you tell."
" But sdone — at this hour ?"
" Alone ! no : Harry shall attend you, he knows every foot of
the road, and when he is by your side you need have no fear —
a better or a braver rider you won't find between this and the
Solway."
" Could he not go alone :" no sooner had the words passed
my lips than I wished them unsaid. Madge's tone of agony
and distress, as she replied, I shall not soon forget.
^^ He ! ah would he could. How many miserable hours had
I then been spared — ^"
" Or could you write."
" No !" and smiling, she continued — " letters, as you know,
are dangerous."
" Then there is nothing can be done ?"
" Nothing — if you prefer risking the duel to riding across to
the hall." Madge never offered to go herself, and although I
felt inclined to suggest that plan to her, I did not like ; it seemed
so selfish to propose another to do what I feared.
" Then, Madge, I will go," I said, after a moment's pause.
^^ Ah ! there speaks the Bethune blood : what says your watch,
nearly two ? but you have still two good hours ere it be time to
start, so lie down and sleep."
^^ Sleep, Madge ! impossible, how can you talk of such a
thing."
Digitized by
Google
190 THE DIARY OP MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
" Nevertheless lie down : you will want rest ; for you have a
long ride before you. You must indeed, dear Martha," and she
forced me to obey her.
" Will you not come ?" I said.
"No, dear, I shall watch, and not let the time pass for
starting."
I must have fallen asleep, impossible as it seemed ; but it
appeared as if I had just lain down when Madge by a kiss
awoke me, told me it was almost four, and that I must rise. I
had for a moment forgot about the dael, but the remembrance
of it soon returned in all its bitterness.
" Now, whilst you dress, I must go and rouse Harry," said
Madge : and I saw with delight that she also had on her riding
dress, and I felt comforted at having her for my companion.
Truly I had wronged her when I had thought she would spare
herself when she could serve a ^friend. I heard her speaking to
Harry. " Harry, you have not got your gun, and I want them
to see how you can shoot : rise quickly, go over to the hall, get
your gun, and hasten back, but say nothing here where you
have been, they might laugh at a man who could only shoot
with his own gun."
" Oh Madge !" he replied, " I have had such a dream — "
" Hush man ! no dreams before breakfast — now quick ! join
me soon." Madge returned, and very soon Harry knocked to
say he was ready. My room being on the ground floor, we
easily got out and hurried to the stable.
" But who will saddle our steeds ? " I said.
" Oh I can do that bravely, can't I, Madge ? " said Harry.
" None better," she replied kindly.
But when we came to the stable door ,we found tlie ^oom,
who had come across the previous day with Madge's mails.
One of our horses was sick, and John being a famous doctor,
had undertaken to cure it, and as the poor beast was really
veiT ill, he had set up with it all night. He told Madge this,
and seemed to be in no ways surprised at seeing her so early.
" Saddle quickly, John ; we are going to have a brisk ride
and see the sun rise."
With Harry's assistance the three horses were soon ready,
and I, still trembling, was placed by him on my steed.
" Now, Harry, show Martha that you know how to ride with
a lady !"
" Never fear," said he gaily ; " keep at her right side and half
a neck behind, be the pace what it may."
"That's it — and, mind, no racing — ^take as great care of
Martha as if she were a little child."
" Do you not accompany us ?" I said, with surprise."
Digitized by
Google
THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL. 191
" Me ! no. If I could have gone, do you thiuk I would have
sent you ; but my bonnie gray has twice your distance to put
behind his feet. How lucky that the chesnut slipped ; she never
could have done it in the time. Now, listen attentively. Have
no fear of the road. Harry knows every foot of it blindfold :
but when you come to the hall follow Harry up stairs ; he will
go to the right ; do you go straight on to a door that you will
see at the end of the passage, and knock ere you enter. It is
my father^s study, and he is sure to be up ere you go to the hall,
but he dislikes being broken in upon, so I always knock. Tell
him exactly all that has happened between Lord D. and Captain
M. Trust me, he can help you and will ; but how, matters not ;
and tell bim that I have ridden over to Dunsmuir ; he will under-
stand why, and then hasten back to breakfast.
^^ To Dunsmuir, Madge ! that is sixteen miles from this ; you
never can ride so far alone !"
" Why not ; are there bokies by the way ? — ^but time is very
precious — put me on, Harry."
The first thing the gray did when Madge mounted was to
stand on its hind legs, pawing the air with its fore ones. Madge
with a cut of her whip between the ears brought it down, only
to lash out its hind ones, then finding that this did not unseat
her, it darted off like the wind.
" There they go," said John ; ** there's not such a horse, nor
another lady who would ride it, on this side of Tweed, whatever
there is on the other."
Hany then mounted, and we proceeded rapidly by the old
approach, where we soon overtook Madge and her fiery steed,
now on the best of terms, and quietly walking.
" Good luck go with you, Martha : don't forget my directions.
If I have not returned by breakfast time, make the best excuse
for me that you can ; but it will go hard with me but I shall be
back — good bye ; our roads separate here."
(To be continued, J
p2
Digitized by
Google
192
REGISTER
OF
NEW PUBLICATIONS, CORRESPONDENCE, AND EVENTS.
The Editor of the Catholic Magazine akd Beqistbb desires tihat his Corres-
pondents and ContributOTs may alone be held responsible for the opinions and
sentiments that each may express. But he invites onr Venerable Clergy and all
Catholics to send him information on all matters of religious interest in their
several neighbourhoods.
NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.
The Holy Scriptures ; their Origin, Progress, Transmission, Corruptions, and
True Character. 1 vol., 18mo, pp. 168. Dolman : London.
The object of this little work is expressed in its title. It is addressed to
Protestant readers and may be useful to them. In the preface, the author
explains the meaning of the word " heresy," and thence proceeds to the his-
tory of religion and of the gospels and epistles of the New Testament, and
of the circumstance under winch they were written. Then follows an
account of the progress of the sacred books down to the present time. The
whole will convey much information to many, and may dissipate many pre-
judices in a quiet, inoffensive manner.
Wilhem's Method of Teaching Singing, improved hy H. W, Crowe, Burns
and Lambert : London.
We have all heard of talking with the fingers : the publication before us
explains the art of singing with the fingers. In the days of Robespierre,
players were schooled how to extend their hands so as not to seem to allude
to the tyrants of the Revolution : in this work, the position of every finger
is to be noted. The method proposed is very simple and ingenious : and the
music is neatly printed.
Lectures on certain difficulties fell hy Anglicans in submitting to the Catholic
Church, By John Henry Newman, Priest of the Oratory of St. Philip
Neri, P. 1 vol, Svo, pp. 325. Bums and Lambert.
We cannot exaggerate the importance of this volume at the present
moment. The author, indeed, says that his work is " directed against a
mere transitory phase in an accidental school of opinion, and, for that reason,
both in its matter and ar|;ument only of local interest and ephemeral import-
ance." This, however, is not doing justice to himself. Agreeing fuUy in
his opinion that " it is a better deed to write for the present moment than
for posterity," we must yet assert that this volume contains bursts of
eloquence and passages of quiet argumentation which will be remembered
for their own sake after the controversy of the present times shall, as we
trust, have merged in Catholic unity. The motives which directed the
pntacher in his choice of subjects ; the tenderness with which he has handled
and made allowance for the weaknesses which still keep back those who
have advanced so near the truth ; the clearness and considerateness and
respect even with which he meets theur doubts and prejudices, are modes of
pulpit oratory for these times. No Anglican who is earnest in his profession
of nigh Church-of-Englandism ; no Protestant or Methodist who sincerely
believes aU Uie evils he imputes to Catholicism; no educated looker on at
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 19S
the great division which now rends the Established Church, ought to be
without this volume : and truly do we thank Dr. Newman for such a means
of meeting and explaining those Anglican difficulties which are the subject
of discussion, of wonder, or of speculation in every society.
Tht Lamp, Part F. Richardson and Son.
We fear that this clever publication is too clever, too serious for the poor
to whom it is directed : and we regret that its conductors cannot more
closely follow the plan of the " Penny " and " Saturday Magazines," which
were so eminently successful. The mechanic, the artisan, the labourer, need
amusement or relaxation in their reading, or useful information. If, how-
ever, the " Lamp" lacks not oil under its present management, we are the
better pleased.
A Discourse on the Mission and Influence of the Popes, By the Right Rev,
Bishop Gillis, Edinburgh : Dolman.
Whatever is written by Dr. Gillis must bear the impress of thoujj^ht and
eloquence. The discourse before us recommends itself as an historical
sketch, no less than by the possession of those other well-known charac-
teristics of all that his Lordship writes.
The Church and the World : a Lecture, By the Riyht Rev, John HugJies,D,D,
Bishop of New York, Dunigan, New York, 1850.
It is always delightful to us to mark the views which enlightened Ameri-
cans take of European interests, whether past or present : tiiev behold them
as from a distance, and in different lights from those in whicn they present
themselves to our own notice. When so spirited a writer, so close a
reasoner, so independent a citizen as the Bishop of New York passes us in
review, we need not say that his observations are most interesting. We le-
comnieud this little lecture to all who, in a few pages, would see the Catholic
American raised in presence of European institutions.
A Panegyric on St. Margaret, Queen and Patroness qf Scotland, By J, A»
Stothert, Missionary Apostolic, Edinburgh: Dolman. 1850.
This is an eloquent discourse for a charitable purpose. May it answer the
end for which it was delivered and has been published.
CORRESPONDENCE.
Catholic Advertisements.
To the Editor of the " Catholic Magazine and Register,'*
Sir, — In the last number of your excellent periodical, in an article from
your own multafluent pen, vou remarked upon the advertisements in the
" T^mes " newspaper. Is there nothing in our Catholic advertisements as
worthy of attention ? What say you to the following which (with the name
of the chapel which I omit or you would have to pay duty) appeared in the
"Catholic Standard" of the 31st of August ?—
"A Benefactor contributes JE20 towards the redemption of the Spanish Chalice.—
Who will join the pious Crusader for the recovery of the Holy Vessel?— Thus stands
the log — ^Nabuchodonosor, 35— champion of the cross, 20. Well Crangle, keep her
nose close up to the wind, and next well give the Devil his proper place— a wide
berth astern. * Aye, aye, Sir, when he sees that Chalice on our altar, he'll spill a hot
bucket of brimstone in his passon. — Likely enough — and I'll treat Crangle to a stiff
l^ass of grog, of which he'll not spill a drop.' "
Digitized by
Google
194 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
What does it all mean ? Can yon inform me, Mr. Editor ? Is it decorous
thus to speak of the Chalice in which are wrought '*the tremendous mys-
teries" or our Redemption ? We have all of us smiled and shaken our heads
over the Rev. Mr. Dalton*s " interesting cases :" we have all of us opened
wide our eyes at the Rev. Mr. Moore's cheers to his " Wapping boys :" but
what can we think, what can we say, what can we do in reference to this
piece of vulgarity and blasphemy ? I am, sir, your humble servant,
York, Srd September, 1850. A Scandalizbd Onb.
Jbsu Christi Pasrio.
Hon. and Rev. G. Spbnceb.— A New Mj^yb fob thb Conybbsion
OP England.*
To the Editor of the "Catholic Magazine and Register*'
St. Patrick's College, Carlow,
Sept. 13, 1850.
Dear Sir, — I have unexpectedly found time for a hasty letter this month
in tbe course of a retreat, which I am giving to the students of this college ;
but if I can only communicate a simple statement of my own feelings, it will
be calculated to animate those who sympathize with me, to new zeal for the
conversion, or the conquest, of England ; for never was I more dcYoted to
the thought,, though I hope to be more and more so, every day that I liYc.
It seems to me that, if I live and have my health, I have before me a better
chance now than ever I had of preaching the crusade for England ; and I
thank God for it. The circumstances which have led to this are such as I
could not have conceived would have been so agreeable to me ; but Almighty
God knows how to guide things in admirable ways. I should not have
thought that it could have been so much to my taste, to be started on
another vast enterprise in the way of begging ; but so it is. A visitor has
-been sent from Rome, delegated by our general to put in more complete
form the congregation of Passionists in England. The result of his first
view of our position has been, a resolution that we must, in the first
Elace, obtain a regular establishment of our own near London, where we
ave a community, but living in a hired house. At least five thousand
pounds are required for this purpose, and it devolves on me to raise this
sum, by whatever fair and honest means I can. I consider that, by ordinaiy
course of begging, provided I have health and lose no time about anything
else, I might hope to raise about £100 a month, which would give me the
prospect of working incessantlv at this for five years ; a very inconvenient
prospect, or rather, one not to be contemplated as possible. But if I take
to preaching the crusade for England's conversion, and succeed in this,
I conceive I may very probably move people to give us what we want in
much more ouick time ; that we may establish what I will call a fortress,
overhanging the metropolis, from which that metropolis may be incessantly
assaulted, till it falls by the combined efforts of this and the other battalions
of troops which are stationed on different points around or within it, sup-
ported by the artillery, with which we must have its walls shaken and
breaches made, from all parts of the world. This is, then, the line of action
I am now following up. On receiving my orders, I determined at once
to go to the synod of the bishops of Ireland, to move them, if I was per-
mitted, to call their people to arms, to declare war on England, and to
proclaim the crusade m such a tone, that the adversaries might feel that,
as far as the Catholics of Ireland are concerned, no rest will be taken or
given, no time lost, no exertions spared, till thev submit and embrace the
fiuth which they have so long ignorantly despised and persecuted. I could
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 195
not have counted on such a favour, as that any new matter proposed hy me
should be at all noticed on the concluding day of the meeting of the synod,
before which I could not arrive at Thurles. Yet it was noticed. The
glorious primate, delegate of the Holy See, consented to accept from me a
short memorial on this subject, which he himself laid before the bishops,
in their very last assembly before the svnod was closed. What was decided,
or whether anything definite was decided on this subject, I know not. The
proceedings of the synod were ordered to be kept strictly secret ; but I have
good reason to believe that the idea was warmly recommended and favoiurably
entertained. I was afterwards permitted to speak at some length to almost
all the prelates, assembled after dinner on the day of the termination of the
synod, and if no distinct acceptance of my proposal was intimated, at least it
was not rejected nor disapproved, and this is fully as much as I could have
expected. I'he substance of what I have to say in Ireland is as follows: — "
[We regret that want of space compels us to defer until next month the
conclusion of this interesting letter. — Ed, Cath. Magazine.]
CONVERSIONS.
Lord Viscount Fielding, eldest son of the Earl of Denbigh, Viscount
Fielding, Baron Fielding of Newnham Paddox, and Baron St. Lizy, also
Earl of Desmond, Co. Kerry, Viscount Callen and Baron Fielding of I^caghe
Co. Kilkenny, also Count of the holy Roman Empire. This very ancient
family claims descent from the illustrious house of Hapsburgh, which, for
so many centuries gave emperors to Germany. Rudolph, the first emperor
of that house, had a younger brother, Geoffrey, who flying from the oppres-
sion of the emperor, came into England and, entering the service of Henry
III., took the name of Fielden or Fielding. The ninth in descent from him
was created Earl of Denbigh by James I.
Upon the conversion of this nobleman the newspapers remark : — ^The public
will learn with no less surprise than regret that Vis. Fielding, M.P. has de-
serted the ranks of the Established Church and gone over to the Church of
Rome. During the last few weeks a rumour to that effect was in circulation,
but we believe it was generaUy discredited. However, on Friday evening
the fsLCt of the noble lord's secession was announced to the respective com-
mittees of the London Union on Church Matters and of the Metropolitan
Church Union, with which bodies he was connected. Those who are most
in his Lordship's confidence attribute this unlocked for decision to his dia-
satisfaction with the course of conduct pursued by his Grace the Archbishop
of York and some other church dignitaries, in reference to the Gorham case.
Such, at least is said to be the immediate motive. But, however much Lord
Fielding may have disapproved of the heads of the church, avowedly uphold-
ing the decision of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the case
of *' Gorham v. the Bishop of Exeter," his secession is scarcely reconcileable
with the public pledge of continued adherence to the Establishea Church which
he gave in two recent instances — the first being the great meeting, held in
February last, upon the Educational question ; the second held in July last,
upon the Gorham case. On the last occasion, St. Martin's Hall being
inconveniently crowded, a supplemental meeting was held in Freemason's
Hall over which Viscount Fielding presided ; and when some of the speakers
hinted that secession might be justifiable should the spiritual heads of the
church fail in the discharge of their duty, his Lordship used these words-r-
*' I have heard with pain some allusion to separation, as a possible con-
tingency, should the state proceed to further aggressions. That, I admit,
might justify us in seeking relief from the trammels of the state. Secession
Digitized by
Google
196 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
from the church is quite another thing. Is it for Churchmen to desert
their church at her uttermost need ? when the enemy is at her gate, shall
the soldiers of Christ, the divine head of the church, violate their loyalty
and allegiance, by rushing into dissent, if not something worse ? This
suggestion was made, I presume, merely in the hurry of discussion ; but I
fain hope that no true Churchman, whether he be clergyman or layman,
would seriously entertain the idea of secession from the church." With
reference to this language, alleged to have been used by his lordship. Lord
Fielding has written a letter to the '"Times," in which he remarks as
follows : — " I do not boast of having a precise memory, and have no notes
of my speech on that occasion. I can only, therefore, say that I have not the
slightest recollection of using any such language. Indeed, I am firmly con-
vinced I did not do so. If you quote from the report of the ' Tiroes ' on that
occasion, I can most unhesitatingly pronounce it to be an entire forgery, for
I remarked at the time that the ^Times' had made me up a speech, of
which I did not utter a single sentiment. However, waiving all this, no
one will deny that I impressively said, that it was the duty of every Church-
man to fight for the truth, careless of all obloquy and the world's opinion,
and that I was prepared to do so. The step I have taken sufficiently attests
this, as no one who knows me will ^ink that I should have adopted such
a course, had I not been conscientiously «aonvinced that it was for the sake
of truth and dutv." Lord Lyttleton, in reference to whose intended seces-
sion from the Church of England rumours have been rife during the last
fbw days, has explained his views in reference to the course Lord Fielding
and otners have adopted, in consequence of the position in which members
of the church have been placed by the recent decision of the Judicial Com-
mittee of Privy Council. Lord Lyttleton, it seems, was invited to the great
church meeting, held a few weeks since at St. Martin's Hall, but declined
taking part in the proceedings. His chief motive, he says, was founded
upon a fact which, in his view, has hardly been sufficiently dwelt upon,
though it has been adverted to by Dr. Pusey, Mr. Keble, Archdeacon Hare,
and others, namely, that there exists the most grievious amount of misun-
derstanding about the meaning of certain theological terms involved in the
auestion in debate, in consequence of which many persons suppose that
1^ differ, when, in fact, they substantially agree. Rather than recommend
a separation from the church. Lord Lyttleton recommends a reconciliation
between the two conflicting parties, but wishes it to be understood that he
implies nothing as to the exact time and manner in which the churdi is
bound to act upon the questions at issue — points on which his lordship
thinks somewhat rash statements have been made by eminent men. His
lordship repudiates for the present the use of the terms ''Convocation" or
" Synod," as constituting matters of detail. He is rather anxious to ascertain,
in the first instance, whether the principle should be adopted. With refer-
ence to a "Synod" or "Convocation," his lordship says : — "It is probably
the opinion of no one that either of these bodies, understanding by them, as
relates to their main principle, entirely clerical bodies, shoidd eventually
furnish the precise model of the church legislature which we wish to
establish. But especially with regard to convocation, it is a question to be
argued, whether it, as ahready existing, should be called into practinl
operation, with the intention that it should then be reformed as may seem
fit, or whether the attempt should be made at once to constitute, with legal
authorized functions, such a body as we should wish to see pennanently
established.
" I will only say that (not addressing those who hold the church to be a
mere function of the state) if there be anywhere in the world any organic
body, secular or spiritual, which cannot be trusted with the power of delibenh
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 197
tion and self-government without danger of destruction — so that, as we are
told, it is the instinct of self-preservation which has suspended the action of
this power in the church — ^the sooner such a body falls to pieces the better.
Truly would the holders of such an opinion justify the sneer of Mr. Newman's
lectures, that we are all of us, as he was in the latter years of his abode
among us, without faith in our church. — Letter recently published by Lord
Lyttleton.
Lord Fielding. — Lady Fielding has seceded with his lordship. Her
ladyship was educated in strict communion with the evangelical part^ in
the Church of England. Lady Fielding was the first to show any decided
inclination towards the course which has been adopted. She is building a
beautiful church on her estates in Wales— intended, until the last few days,
for the Church of England, but it now will have a different appropriation.
Lord Fielding is the heir to the earldom of Denbigh. — Oxford Herald.
It is reported that intelligence has reached England of the reception of
the Rev. H. W. Wilberforce, vicar of East Farleigh, Kent, and brother of
the Bishop of Oxford, into the Roman Catholic Church at Brussels. — Times,
From a Correspondent of the "Church and State Gazette :" —
I believe the following may be relied on as strictly correct : — H. Worthing-
ton, Esq., of Fairfield, near Manchester; the Rev. Mr. Bathurst, rector of
Eibwprth, Beauchamp, Leicester; Mrs. Foljambes, of Margaret Chapel,
(now dedicated to " all the Saints") ; and Mr. Stone, a chorister of that
chapel, have been received into the Church of Rome. The two former were
received at the Oratory, at Birmingham, by Father Newman, and the latter
at Islington by Father Oakley.
The Rev. W. Bathurst, M.A., was lately Fellow and Tutor of Merton
College, Oxford, and Rector of Kibworth, to which he was presented by the
Society of Merton College, in the year 1844. Mr. Bathurst's living is of the
value of £1,000 per annum ; he has, therefore, " relieved his conscience " less
canonicaJly than the Archdeacons of York and Maidstone, and Profess
Mill.
It is stated that Mr. Richards, of Margaret Chapel, and Dr. Pusey, have
been in the habit of giving persons formal permission to use invocations of
the Virgin Mary and the Saints, and to observe other Romish practices ;
and that the latter has even allowed his penitents to attend Mass under
^' peculiar circumstances " (in this country) ! But should these assertions
be incorrect, those reverend persons will no doubt contradict them. It is
certain that several of the congregation of Margaret Chapel bow at the name
of the Virgin Mary — (probably to gain the indulgence which the Pope has
attached to the observance of this practice)— and some of them express their
belief in the Rimini winking miracle, and do not hesitate to say that a
" different religion " from theirs is taught at the neighbouring church of All
Souls, which is no doubt quite true. They say that their new church will
** far exceed " St. Barnabas at Chelsea.
A near relative of Dr. Pusey has stated his intention to resign his living,
and is known to have declared that hundreds of clergymen are contemplating
the same step. The '* Morning Herald" gives more creditto the latter repoi-t
than we are disposed to attach to it. There is a great division and dis-
organization in the Romanising camp; the Bishop of Glasgow and his
section, strongly, it is said, disapproving of the extravagant views of Arch-
deacon Wilberforce and Manning, with whom he formerly acted.
Dr. Forbes, the Bishop of Brechin, is now on the Continent, where it is
believed he feels no scruple in attending Masses and other Romish servioes,
and that devotumally, as Romanists themselves would do. It is admitted
that his friend. Archdeacon Manning, used to attend the Roman Catholic ser«
vices regularly in Rome and elsewhere, and that he would have considered it
Digitized by
Google
198 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE
schismatical to have ^one to the Church of England service ! It is said that
the right reverend gentlenian " consecrated " some " altar skhs " sometime
before he left; England, in conformity with the requirements of the Romish
ritual. He was probably aware that it would be difficult to find another
prelate to perform this new episcopal function. This gentleman certainly
** elevates " the bread and wine at the communion, in obedience to another
direction of the Roman Catholic service. Archdeacon Manning's convent
at Wantage has been dedicated to the Virgin Mary ! It is said that thirty
perverts have been received into the Romish Church at Cambridge, amongst
whom are several members orthe UniFersity.
In addition to these the correspondent of a University paper asserts that
a pervert who bad recanted has again proceeded to Oscott and become a
priest i No name is given. The son of a West of England baronet, who
had pursued a similar course, is also reported to have relapsed into Popish
error, having married a wife who was of the Romish communion.
The Rev. Eyre Stuart Bathurst alluded to above has addressed a letter to
his late parishioners, at Kibworth, Leicestershire, in which he says : — '* What
has made me leave much and many that I love at Kibworth is this — that
my present convictions will not allow me to believe that I have been minis-
tering there with the authority of Christ's one holy Catholic and Apostolic
Church. You all know that I ever put before you this truth — that our .
blessed Lord had a visible Church on earth, in strict union with which all
baptized persons ought to Uve. I ever called upon those amongst you who
were Dissenters from the Established Church to join it, and maintained that
I was the only lawfully appointed minister of Christ in the parish. Many
said that to teach this and other points connected with it was to teach and
preach what they called '* Popery." I disregarded them, because I believed
that in all such points the Established Church agreed with the Catholic
Church, and formed, in fact, a part of that Church. Things have happened
lately which have forced me to a very different conclusion. I can no longer
believe that we belong to the same body with Catholics. I believe the
Church of England did at the time of what is called the ''Reformation," what
it has since found fault with. Wesley and others for doing as regards itself
— viz., separated from the one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and so
has ceased to belong to it. Such being my conviction, and firmly believing,
as I have already said, that all the baptised are bound in obedience to our
blessed Lord's will, to live and die in strict union with His Church, I am
about to make my submission to it." He goes on to say that, if this act
should lead otiiers to make further inquiry about the Church, and lead them
to "a right faith," he shall thank God to his dying hour. The letter is
written from"l, Devonshire-place, London,"
Mr. Allies. — From the Oxford University Herald. — On Sunday afternoon
last, the Rev. T. W. Allies, Rector of Launton, announced from the pulpit to
his congregation, that he should the next day resign his benefice. He said
amongst other things, that '* he could not endure the infamy that contradic-
tory doctrine, even upon the Holy Sacrament of Baptism, was permitted to be
taught by the ministers of the Anglican Church, and that while they would
be told in the church of Launton, that infants were regenerated by God's
Holy Spirit in Baptism, they would hear just the contrary at the church of
Bicester. He would, therefore, give them a sermon no more by word, but
by deed, in that he would of his own accord, resign his living, teaching them
thereby that they should follow the truth withersoever it might lead them."
Mr. Allies was received into the Roman Catholic Church on Wednesday last
by the Rev. Dr. Newman, at St. Wilfrid's, near Cheadle. The rectory of
Launton is the gift of the Bishop of London, and is valued at £1000 per
annum. On Friday he returned to Birmingham, and on Monday momuig
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INT£LUG£NCB. 199
jast was confirmed by the Right Rev. Dr. UUathomey Bishop of the Midland
District, in the chapel attached to his Lordship's Episcopal residence in Bath
Street.
Mr. Allies and his lady in the course of the day attended the consecration
of the cemetery by his Lordship, and on Wednesday proceeded to Oscott
College, where he was most kindly received by the Very Rev. Dr. Moore,
the Rev. R. Bagnall, and other gentlemen of that establishment. He is now
engaged removing his valuable library and effects from his late rectory at
Launton, the value of which was £1000 per annum.
Mr. W. Allen, a member of an old and mo6t respectable Protestant family,
was received on Thursday, the 29th instant, into the bosom of the Catholic
Church, by the Rev. John Mc*Craitb, C.C, Newport, Tipperary. — Tipperary
Vindicator,
Miss Frances Mary Gertrude Leeson, daughter of the late Rev. Francis
Thomas Charles Leeson, for many years rector of Bath, was received into
the ancient faith and baptized on the 2nd instant, by the Rev. Mr. Hickey,
of Phibsboro Church. — Dublin Weekly Freiman,
We understand that the Rev. Dr. Forbes, Protestant Bishop of Brechin,
Scotland, was lately received into the Church at Malines. This gentleman
is son of Lord Forbes, the Scottish Judge ; and formerly himself held a high
judicial office in India.
During the last eighteen months, seventy-five converts have been received
into the Church, at Great Marlow, Bucks.
The " Catholic Standard " of the 2 1st Sept., noticing the last Number of
our Magazine, in the candid spirit which we have long observed with
pleasure in its useful pages, of one of the papers, says, "we cannot under-
stand the admiration which the writer of this article feels for Bishop Baines'
treatment of the converts, and the extreme gusto with which he narrates it."
In consequence of this remark, we have again perused the paper alluded to :
but we cannot discover in it anything denoting the feelings of the writer on
the subject, further tban that he was a friend of the Bishop. We assure
the Editor of the '* Catholic Standard " that no harsh or ungenerous
.observation on the converts should have found place in the Maoazinb with
our assent ; nor is the writer, from our knowledge of him, likely to wisb to
.indulge in such. Indeed, at the conclusion of the article on the same
subject in this number, we observed with pleasure that he disapproved of
the language and conduct of Dr. Baines. — [Editor Catholtc Magazine.]
The Perverts and their Preparers.— From the ''Church and State
Gazette." — ^At length, Mr. Allies has relieved the Church of England of the
oppression of his membership. The beloved of the '* English Churchman,*'
the cherished of the " Guardian"— the client whose truth, when his transition
■views and his open traitorism were alike patent, was so stoutly contended
for by the Tractarian journals — ^has gone to his proper place. We pilloried
the notorious record of his travels long ago — a process which ultimately
compelled the suppression of that wretched volume. From the day it was
written, we consider that its author should have taken the step into which
he has now been too tardily shamed. The stipend and the office which be
clung to at Launton will, we trust, now fall to a man who will earn the one
by his faithful execution of the other.
Tbere are some yet to go whose claim to remain in our church cannot be
recognised while the Tractarian course adopted by them is. leading their
flocks to Rome. In the meantime we submit the following intelligence,
forwarded to us by a correspondent : —
Lady Fielding has followed his lordship's example, and has been received
into the Church of Rome ; and it is said that the schoolmaster of Bisham,
near Great Marlow, Bucks, has also been teceived into that communion.
Digitized by
Google
300 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
Mr Penj, the new curate of Margaret Chapel, is in the habit of making
the sign of the cross over the congr^ation, when he pronounces the bless-
ing, in the same manner as the Romish priests. If this gentleman has not
yet been licensed, it would perhaps be desirable to apply the "Anti- Roman
test" in his case. He was curate of the sub-deanery church at Chichester,
and is the proteg^ of the dean's, under whose auspices (as rector of the dis-
trict) Margaret Chapel was brought to so near an approximation to the
Romish Church. The dean has several times shown his approbation of the
services by preaching there. Mr. Richards is more prudent than his curate,
for he only holds up his two fore-fingers, as if he were going to make the
sign of the cross, which, however, he does not do ; but this is, perhaps, by
way of preparation for the introduction of the ceremony.
Lord and Lady Fielding were old attendants at Margaret Chapel, which
it is thought served more to prepare them for Rome than either St. Paul's,
Knightsbridge, or Sl Barnabas.
Archdeacon Manning has proceeded to the Continent, and it is believed
is now at Munich, which is celebrated for its crucifixes, images, &c. It is,
no doubt, a great comfort to the venerable gentleman to be able to attend
Masses, services to the Virgin, &c., which ne can do now as much as he
pleases, and without (as he considers) acting ''undutifuUy" (!) towards his
own "branch of the Church I"
*'The Companion to the Altar," which is commonly used at Margaret
Chapel and St. Barnabas, is a translation of the Romish "Paradisus Aniinse,"
in which, of course, the communion is spoken of as a true and proper sacri-
fice for the living and the dead, and the devotions in it simply a belief in
transubstantiation. On receiving the bread the communicant is'told to say,
"Hail true body, born of Mary," &c. This work is translated by Dr. Pusey,
and published by Parker. At Margaret Chapel there are also smaller books
whicli are (as the title-page) states "privately printed," and are also privately
circulated, being more undisguisedly Roman than even the above. The de-
votions are from the Romish Missal, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Bonaven-
ture, &c. In these books the communicant is taught to say, "Hail, flesh!"
*' Hail, blood of Christ!" &c., at the consecration of the bread and wine,
which expressions are taken from the " Garden of the SouL"
Archdeacon Manning says that, by acknowledging the Royal supremacy,
the "Church of England becomes at once guilty of a formal schism from the
Church of Christ." One is tempted to ask why Mr. Manning continues
Archdeacon of Chichester ? Mr. Keble says, that things are going on in
that direction that it will be "no long time" before she becomes heretical I —
(Vide their recent publications). There was an intimation of this in the
'* resolutions" which were put forth, by these and other gentlemen of
the Transitionist party, immediately aiter the first decision in &vour of Mr.
Gorham had been given.
The cross over the entrance to the chancel at St. Barnabas, Pimlico, is in
reality a crucifix ; but the figure is moveable, and it is taken off at present
for prudential reasons. It is said that Mr. Richards, of Margaret Chapel,
has a cross or crucifix which has been blessed by the Pope (1), and which is
probably intended for the communion table of their new church. It is not
long since we saw in a pawnbroker's window in Catherine -street, Strand, a
number of crucifixes and rosaries attached to cards, like Sheffield scissors
and knives, and which were offered for sale, warranted to have been blessed
by Pio Nono !
Transitionism. — St. John's Church, Watbbloo-road- — ^A painted
window, containing ninety-eight feet super, of glass, has been recenUy put
up in the east window of St. John's Church, Waterloo-road. The desif^n
comprises in the centre a crucifixion, in the nianner of the early Christian
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 201
painters, with fifjurcs of St. John, Mary Virgin, Mary Magdalene at foot of
the cross, &c. ; the cross is surmounted by a pelican in her piety, above
which are angels holding a crown of rine leaves. The border contains
figures of the four evangelists, with their emblems beneath the feet of each ;
also the Agnu8 Dei, chalice and wafer, &c., comprised in a rich mosuc, in
which are introduced passion flowers, crosses, and emblems of the Trinity.
The colouring throughout is rich. In the design generally a severity of
feeling, adapted to the devotional character of the subject, has been observed,
at the same time with an endeavour to avoid the imperfect drawing of the
early artists. The work has been executed by Mr. Wilmhurst, from the
designs of Mr. N. J. Cottingham, at a limited cost. The reredos and
sacrariara are decorated in polychrome (less successfully than the window),
and a large painting of the entombment of our Lord is in progress for the
former. The style of the church is '* Domestic Greek," so to speak. The
strictly correct character of glass for such a building is still a question.^-
Buildir.
ECCLESIASTICAL INTELLIGENCE.
Thb Synod of Thurlbs, of the Irish prelates, held, by infunction of
His Holiness, with an unanimity, decorum, and religious majesty, which
excites the envy and the malice of our separated brother, has risen after
adopting resolutions which have been published in a pamphlet entitled **The
Synodical Address of the Fathers of the National Council of Thurles to
their beloved Flock, the Catholics of Ireland.'' In this important document,
the Government Colleges are formally condemned in accordance with former
rescripts of the Holy Father : " all controversy is now at an end — thb
QUESTION IS DECIDED :" a resolution is announced to make eveiy efibrft
to establish a Catholic University : a warning is proclaimed against every
College in which " the doctrines and practices of the Church are impugned
and the legitimate authority of its pastors set at nought :" an exhortation is
made to the clergy to extend spiritual and temporal charitable associations
in this time of Ireland's affliction : an encouragement is given to the poor
to bear their sufferings and an admonition to those who oppress them : an
announcement is made that the half-century jubilee will commence on
Michaelmas Day and continue for three months : and a direction is issued
to add certain prayers in honour of the Immaculate Conception to the
Church services during the ensuing year.
[We would suggest to those Protestants who exclaim against our condem-
nation of these Colleges, to ask themselves on what principle it is that
Catholics and Dissenters are excluded ^m the University of Oxford. Do
not they themselves set us an example to avoid mixed education ? — ^Editor
Cath. Mag.]
Archbishop M'Hale and Archbishop Slattery, appointed visitors to the
colleges have declined the appointments.
The correspondent of the Freeman^ writing from Thuries on Monday week
says : — '* Among the ecclesiastics who arrived to-day was the Hon. and
Rev. Mr. Spencer, Provincial of the Passionists, whose appearance, wearing
the strict ecclesiastical costume of his order, created no small sensation as
the gifted and eminent convert walked through the town to the Monastery.
He wore the flowing black serge habit cincture of the order of Passionists^
with the symbolic emblems richly embroidered over the left breast, broad-
leaved hat, turned up at the sides, and laced sandals, without stockings."
The magnificient Church of St. Mary, at Sheffield, was dedicated on
Wednesday, the 12th September, by the Bight Aev. Dr. Briggs, supported
by a large body of the clergy.
Digitized by
Google
202 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
Dr. Wifleman arrived at Rome on the 6tli September. A report is current
that he will return to England ai^ain before the Consiatoiy. This is evidently
" a weak invention of the enemy."— [Edit. Cath. Mao.]
The Archbishop of Paris and the " Univbrs."— The Archbisbop
has just issued a Pastoral letter, in which he publishes a decree passed by
the Provincial Council of Paris last year resarding writers on ecclesiastical
subjects. He remarks at great length, and in very stringent terms, on the
indiscreet discussion of such subjects — proclaims the decree obligatory, and
establishes a committee of ecclesiastical writings, threatening those who
publish without leave with the censure of the Church. Finally, he publishes
an avertiitement specially directed to the conduct of the " Univers " in this
particular, and condemning that journal for its violent polemics on the late
Education Bill, the controversy on the Inquisition, &c. It is a very severe
and lengthy castigation. The remarks of the ^' Univers *' on the subject
are as follows : — "We received yesterday, and this morning was read in all
the Churches, a mandement of the Archbishop, followed by an advertisement
on the subject of the journal, the '* Univers " in which the Archbishop
blames with the greatest severity the whole of our conduct, especially in dis-
cussing the questions of the councils, education, the Inquisition and miracles.
* * * It is impossible for us to preserve the character of our jonmal
without violating the prescriptions of the Archbishop. Two ways are open
to us — ^immediate submission, or appeal to a higher decision. Transform,
the "Univers" into a journal purely political, we will not; suppress it, we
daare not. Before we abandon the work which we have taken in hand, we
must see this work, blamed to-day by an authority which we respect, cease
to be lauded and enooun^ed by other authorities equally respectable. ^ *
For these and other considerations we carry our cause and our defence to
the tribunal of the Sovereign Pontiff." In reply to some remarks of the
'* Constitutionnel," in which it was said that " this journal (' TUnivers ') has
already been visited with the rebuke of Rome, on the subject of its polemics
and education," (referring to the Papal Nuncio*s letter), the "Univers"
writes : — '* The only news that we have received from Rome on the subject
are sufficiently recent, and we could not in our hearts desire them to be more
pleasing. A month ago, the Holy Father himself, speaking to the corres-
pondent of the " Univers," whom he had admitted to kiss his feet, condes-
cended to praise our submission, ' which was one not of form, but from the
heart.' These are his own words ; and he bestowed upon our friend, in
testimony of his satisfaction, a beautiful medal struck in commemoration of
his return to Rome."
Thb Last Priest Tried in England for Saying Mass. — In his
Lives of the Chief Justices of England, Loid Campbell has recorded how it
was that these bloody and infamous persecutions were put an end to. The
memorv of the manner of their deliverance ought to be preserved by English
Catholics : a priest had been arraigned before the Chief Justice for the crime
of saying Mass : his charge to the Jury was as follows : — '* Lord Mansfield :
' There are here two Questions for your consideration : 1st. Is the defendant
a priest P 2nd. Did ne say Mass ? By the statute of Queen Elisabeth it is
high treason for any man proved to be a Popish priest to breathe in this
kingdom. By what was considered a mild enactment in the reign of William
III., a Popish priest convicted of exercising his functions is subject to fine
and perpetual imprisonment. But, first, he is to be proved to be a priest, for,
unless he be a priest, he cannot be touched for the enormity of saving Mass;
and then, unless he be proved to have siud Mass, the crime of being a priest
will escape with impunity. Now the onlv witness to the Mass is Payne— a very
illiterate man, who know^ nothing of Latin, the language in which it is
said ; and, moreover, he as informer, is witness in his own cause ; for, upon
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 203
t-oTiviction, he is entitled to £100 reward. Sereral others were called, but
not one of them would venture to swear that he saw the defendant say Mass.
One swore that he sprinkled with holy water; another, that he addressed
some prayers to the Virgin Mary in English ; another, that he heard him
preach, and being asked what the sermon was about, observed that ' it taught *
the people that good works were necessary to salvation— a doctrine which he
looked upon as wholly at variance with the Protestant religion !' Then as to
the defendant being a priest, you are not to infer that because he preached ;
for laymen often perform this office with us, and a deacon may preach in the
Church of Rome. A deacon may be a cardinal, — if he mav not be Pope.
A deacon may even administer some of their sacraments, and perform many
of their services ; and we do not know that he may not elevate the Host
— at least I do not know but he may, and I am persuaded you know
nothing about it. If a deacon may perform all the ceremonies which Payne -
swears, there is no evidence that the defendant is a priest. Why do they
not call some one who was present at his ordination ? You must not infer
that he is a priest because he said Mass, and that he said Mass because he
is a priest. At the Reformation, they thought it in some measure necessary
to pass these penal laws ; for then the Pope had great power, and the Jesuits
were then a very formidable body. Now the Pope has little power, and it
seems to grow less every day. As for the Jesuits, they are now banished from
almost every state in Europe. These penal laws were not meant to be
enforced except at proper seasons, when there is a necessity for it ; or, more
properly speaking, they were not meant to be enforced at all, but were merely
made in terrorem. Now, when you have considered all these things, you
will say if the evidence satisfies you. Take notice, if you bring him in
gmlty the punishment is very severe; a dreadful punishment indeed!
Nothing less than perpetual imprisonment ! "
The jury found a verdict of Not Guilty ; but many zealous Protestants
were much scandalized, and rumours were spread that the Chief Justice was
net only a Jacobite but a Papist, and some even asserted that he was a
Jesuit in disguise."
Dr. Achilli was exhibiting last week at Macclesfield, under the auspices
of the Evangelical Alliance. Not a word about the *• Dublin Review,"
except that it had had " a full answer" from M. Tonua, one of "the Doctor's"
deluded patrons.
Monsignor Alemani, Bishop of San Francisco and of all California, who
has been in Paris for some davs, at the Dominican Convent, left yesterday
for Dublin to recruit some Irisn priests for the mission amongst the British
settlers in California. Monsignor Alemani is a Spaniard, and was provincial
of the Dominican Friars in America. The French mission in California
is served by friars from Valparaiso and some priests from France.
Preston.— Guild Party. — On Thursday, the 12th inst., the members
of the Youth's Guild attached to St. "Wilfrid's, assembled in the Lower
School-room, Fox-street, where they were regaled with coffee, buns, tarts,
meat, pies, fruits, &c., to the number of one hundred and fifty. Amongst
the visitors we noticed the Reyds. Wm. H. Walmsley, Bridge, T.
Weston, R. Cooper, T. Clarke, J. J. Bond, and J. Gosford. Also Mr.
Howell, Head Master of Fox-street School, and Mr. Spencer, Head Master
of St. Ignatius Boys' School, Upper "Walker-street, and a few friends,
members of the Men's Guild. After the good things provided for them by
their respected pastor and chaplain, the Rev. J. Gosford, had received ample
justice, the evening was spent most harmoniously in songs and tecitations,
enlivened by the youth's band in uniform, who played several appropriate
airs, that reflected the greatest credit upon ^themselves and their music
master.
Digitized by
Google
204 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
Hie Archdeacon of Worcester bas been aocneed by the Rev. Lucius
Arthur, curate of Oddingley, io a letter addressed to the bishop, with pro-
poundinpf heresy in his primary charge. — Local paper.
The Gobham Casb. — ^Although the Bishop of Exeter does not intend
taking immediate proceedings against Mr. Gorbam for heresy, it is considered
certain that, before many weeks shall hare passed, the contest will be revived.
The bishop, as we stated last week, has urged upon the churchwardens of
Brampford Speke the necessity of informing him of any statements which
may be made by Mr. Gorham on the subject of baptism ; but as the testimony
of village churchwardens might not be of a very weighty character in a
court of law, a shorthand writer in London has been engaged to attend
Brampton Speke church, and to supply a verbatim report of Mr. Gorham's
sermons, especially those preached on reading himself into the benefice, a
ceremony which is expected to take place on the 1st Sunday in October.—
It is also stated, that the bishop of Exeter has refused to license the appoint-
ment of the Rev.' George Bellamy to the office of assistant curate, at Charles
Chapel, Plymouth, to which he had been appointed, on the ground that Mr.
Bellamy holds opinions, on the subject of baptismal regeneration, identical
with those of the Rev. Mr. Gorham. Mr. Bellamy officiates at present as
chaplain to the borough prison, Plymouth, and a volumnious correspondence
is said to have taken place between him and the bishop, the result being a
positive refusal on the part of the latter to give the required license.
BIRTHS.
On the 6th September, at Hampstead, Mbs. W. W. Wardell, of a son.
On the 6th September^ at Westbourne Grove West, Mrs. A. A. Lacker-
8TB BN, of a son.
On the 12th September, at Margate, the wife of J. C. Macdermot, Esq.,
of Tadmarton, Oxfordshire, of a son, stillborn.
MARRIAGES.
On the 4th of July, at Calcutta^ at the Catholic Cathedral, by his Grace
the Archbishop, the Rev. Dr. Carew, Robbrt Lewis William Read,
Esq., son of the late Captain James Read, of the Hon. East India Company's
Service, to Aonbs Test a r, youngest daughter of the late John Testar, £sq.
of South Audley Street, Grosvenor Square, London.
On the 6th September, at the Catholic Chapel, Stratford, by the Rev.
Thomas Shattock, of Prior Park College, Bath, Alfred Zouch Palmer,
Esq., of Sonning, Berks, to Catherine Elizabeth Pitchford, second
daughter of the late John Pitchford, Esq., of Bromley, Middlesex.
On the 22nd of September, at Hammersmith, by the Right Rev. Dr. Morris,
John Alexander, second son of Joseph Spencer, Esq., of Westbourne-
pJace, Hyde-park, to Eliza St. Agnes, eldest daughter of the late Captain
Washington Garden, H.M.'s 30th Regiment.
DEATHS.
On the 26th of August, at the residence of J. Hall, Esq., Wlseton, Notts,
Hbn^y Riddbll, Esq., Banister-at-law, of the Middle Temple, affed 31.
On the 31st of Ampist, at Weybridge, Surrey, the Rev. John W^blch,
beloved and lamented by all who had Uie happiness of knowing him.
Lately, at her house, in Ulverston, Miss Frances Bblastsb^ second
paternal niece of the two last Catholic Viscounts Fauconberg.
On the 15th of September, Mrs* Ellbn Dundbrdalb, of Bolton«Ie
Moorsy Lancashire.
Digitized by
Google
THE CATHOLIC
MAGAZINE AND REGISTER.
No. LXIX. November, 1850. Vol. XII.
RELIGION OF LORD BYRON.
In ft letter from Sir Walter Scott, quoted in Moore's Life of
Byron, the writer says, "I told him Uiat, if be lived, I thought
he would end by becoming a Catholic." These are remarkable
words: but, if we carefully study the writings of the noble Poet,
we shall find reason to believe that the Scotch Seer truly foretold
of the future. Lord Byron's conversion was not far distant
when his doubts were cut short and solved by death.
Moore's admirable " Notices " made each reader of them
feel personally acquainted with Lord Byron : biography can
rarely do more. But although these "Notices" made us thus
acquainted with the writer, they have done it only so far
as he was known to himself. Byron was himself ignorant of
his own religious opinions — was ignorant of how much or how
little he believed. Yet as the religious sentiments of one so
situated must ever constitute the most interesting feature in the
character of his mind, so it is that one which chiefly attracted
the attention of the public, and was studied with an anxiety
which still remains unappeased. Let us now seek for informa-
tion at a different source from that from which the Biographers
of the Poet attempted to draw their conclusions.
All the Biographers of Byron have hesitated to decide what
were his religious sentiments ; all have declared their conviction
that he was not an atheist; while fragments of letters and
conversations have been brought forward to prove that he was
a better Christian than would be deemed from his writings.
However interesting such anecdotical fragments may be to the
public, and however willingly we would believe in the inferences
to which they lead, yet must we protest against them as a mode
of argument. It is by his works that an author must be judged.
And this is fair : it is more probable that the real sentiments of
his mind will be conveyed in those thoughts which he has been
in the habit of committing to paper and of publishing during a
course of fifteen years, than in a letter or conversation prompted
VOL. XII. ' Q
Digitized by
Google
206 RELIGION OF LORD BYRON.
by the sudden feelings of the moment, and, perhaps, originating
in a thousand impulses, each independent of the action of his
judgment.
By collecting and collating the various passages in his
poems on this subject, we shall be enabled to form a tolerably
just estimate of the real sentimefits of the noble author, and may
throw a new light on the often-disputed conclusions of his
friends and of his enemies.
It appears to us, that Byron's published religious sentiments
bear, at first sight, the impress of two contradictory feelings,
which further consideration of the whole tenor of his works may
reconcile. He displays himself as a disbeliever, an infidel, and
yet as a man of the strongest religious feelings. And such he
must have been : his feelings were evidently always religious ;
while, until his latest publications, his reason was evidently
antichristian. We will prove this by quoting passages from his
works, according to the order of their publication : by thus
allowing him to speak for himself, we may perchance discover
his gradual approach to other sentiments that might have been
hoped from his early writings.
Let us observe, that morality forms no part of the subject
under our present consideration.
What we have designated as Byron's religious feelings^
(such as they are traced in all his writings) may be accurately
gathered from the following beautiful stanza in Canto II. of
Childe Harold:—
XXVII.
" More blest the life of godly eremite^
Such as on lonely Athos may be seen
Watching at eve upon the giant height,
Which looks o'er waves so blue, skies so serene,
That be who there at such an hour hath been,
Will wistful linger on that hallowed spot ;
Then slowly tear him from the witching scene,
Sigh forth one wish that such had been his lot.
Then turn to hate a world he had almost forgot."
Such is the purport of all his reW^on^ feelings ; but following,
as this stanza does, close upon the decidedly infidel passage at
the opening of that canto, (which stanza viii, which he was
afterwards prevailed upon to insert, beginning — "Yet if, as
holiest men have deemed, there be a land of souls," — cannot
redeem) who does not see that it is a mere ebullition of religious
feeling^ perfectly independent of infidel reasony which has just
sneered at those who "dream on future joy and woe ?" After
that argumentative passage, we fear that noticing can preserve its
Digitized by
Google
RELIGION OP LORD BYRON. 20T
Writer from the charge of having been a reasoning infidel at the
time he composed it.
In Canto III. there is a passage which is scarcely intelligible ;
but, as far it can be understood, we do not think it can be
interpreted as evincing a belief in the Christian doctrine of
resurrection, but rather a participation in the ideas of Spinosa,
Shelley, and many who have fancied themselves atheists, while
they have substituted in lieu of God an universal whole, or an*
animus mundiy in whose essence they fancy their souls will
blend with general nature after death. In the passage to which
we refer, occurs this stanza, which can bear no other interpreta-
tion : —
LXXIV.
" And when, at length, the mind shall be all free
From what it hates in this degraded formi
Reft of its carnal life, sa?e what shall be
Existent happier in the fly or worm, —
When elements to elements conform.
And dust is as it should be, shall I not.
Feel all I see, less dazzling, but more warm —
The bodiless thought ? the spirit of each spot.
Of which, e*en now I share, at times, the immortal lot !
LXXV.
''Are not the mountains, waves, and skies a part
Of me and of my soul, as I of them ! "
Eight years elapsed between the composition of the first and
last cantos of " Childe Harold ;" and, although the fourth canto
is no longer marked by the proud self-sufliciency and derision
which characterised the infidel, although it bears signs of more
serious regrets and even doubts in such passages as in stanza
xcv. — " I speak not of men's creeds ; they rest between man and
his Maker;" and although in stanza clv. St. Peter's is described as
" A fit abode, wherein appear enshrined
Thy hopes of immortality ; and thou
Shall one day, if found worthy, so defined.
See thy God face to face, as thou dost now
His Holy of Holies, nor be blasted by his brow," —
although such passages appear to denote a very different tone
of mind than breathed through the first cantos of the poem,
yet, the hopes they might raise are too uncertain not to be
swept away by the concluding line of the beautiful stanza cv. : —
"There woos no home, nor hope, nor life, save what is here."
q2
Digitized by
Google
208 RELIGION OF LORD BYRON.
We cannot dismiss " Child Harold*' without remarking on the
religious absurdity and illiberality of one of the notes to the
third canto. Speaking of the scenery of Rousseau's Heloise,
Byron says: ^^One of these woods was called the 'Bosquet de
Julie ;' and it is remarkable that, though long ago cut down by
the brutal selfishness of the monks of St. Bernard, (to whom
ihe land appertained,) that the ground might be enclosed into
a vineyard for the miserable drones of an execrable supersti-
tion. . . ." So the monks were to forego the use of their own
land, because an author had laid among its forests the scene
of what is generally considered a most dangerous and immoral
work ! ! Really we might make marks of admiration to the
bottom of the page, did we not see, a few lines lower down, the
same regrets expressed, that Buonaparte should have 'levelled
a part of the same consecrated scenery in improving the road to
the Simplon." On the virulence towards the charitable mem-
bers of the snow-surrounded hospital, we shall offer no obser-
vation; the poet would not have rejoiced in their present
dispersion : nor shall we pretend to judge Lord Byron's religious
sentiments from any of his scornful allusions to Catholicism.
While we are, alas ! investigating whether he had any belief in
any revelation, it were vain to attach importance to bis remarks
on any of the doctrines or practices of any portion of Christians.
For the same reason, we are the less shocked by that so much
deplored provision of his first will, by which he directs that his
body should be buried in his garden, and that no funeral service
whatever should be read over the grave. Indeed, were this
provision founded upon opposition to a particular dogma, it
might be easily defended ; for, let us ask, what is, in fact, the
object of the Protestant burial service ? The Protestant dis-
believes the efficacy of prayers for the dead — ^none such what-
ever occur throughout the whole of that beautiful service ; and,
however beneficial and exemplary the whole prayers and rites
may be to the living, they do not profess to exercise the slightest
influence on the soul of the dead man. Were a dying man to
direct that his body should be delivered over to the scalpel of
the surgeon, he would be doing good service to science, and
thus benefitting the living ; so it is with him who allows such
prayers for the edification of the living to be said over his corpse :
his kindness deserves well of the public ; but he is not to be
blamed, if he prefers being buried quietly without either surgical
or such unmeaning priestly disquisition over his remains.
The next passage in Byron's works which refers to the matter
we have in hand, occurs in a note to " The Giour/' in which he
says, ^^ The monk's sermon is omitted. It may be sufficient to
say diat it was of customary length, (as may be perceived from
Digitized by
Google
RELIGION OF LORD BYRON. 209
the interruptions and uneasiness of the patient,) and was de-
livered in the nasal tone of all orthodox preachers." The tone
of that note is surely unworthy of Byron ; but it forms a link in
the chain of our inquiry.
The continued disbelief of the poet in a future state is next
gathered from the concluding lines of Canto I. of "Lara :" —
" Glad for a while to have unconscious breath.
Yet wake to wrestle with the fear of death.
And shun, though day but dawn on ills increast.
That sleep, the loveliest, since it dreams the least."
There is another passage in paragraph xix. of the second
canto of this poem, which must also be quoted here : —
*' For when one near displayed the absolving cross.
And proffered to his touch the holy bead.
Of which his parting soul might own the need,
He looked upon it with an eye profane,
And smiled — Heaven pardon ! if 'twere with disdain :
But Kaled, *******
Flung back the hand which held the sacred gift.
As if such but disturbed the expiring man.
Nor seemed to know his life, but then began —
That life of immortality, secure
To none, save them whose faith in Christ is sure.**
What interpretation is to be put on these lines ? We fear
that a scoffing vein of ridicule is but too evident; yet would we
not give a decided judgment. Other passages in his works,
published about this time, show something of a more seriously
religious turn of mind. Two years had elapsed between the
publication of "The Giour" and of "Lara." In this period a
change may have been progressing ; and from passages in works
written at this time and afterwards, we would be willing to hope
that his mind was beginning to admit the great frindamental
truth of Christianity — a belief in a friture life. Thus we next
find the following sentiments in "Parasina:" —
**He died, as erring man should die.
Without display, without parade,
Meekly had he bowed and prayed,
As not disdaining priestly aid.
Nor desperate of all hope on high."
On these publications, follow "Beppo" — which we shall not
notice, as it refers solely to what the Poet supposes to be the
peculiar tenets of Catholics ; whereas, our investigation concerns
the frindamental truths of every religion — and the dramatic pieces,
in which the sentiments may or may not be Byron's, as the
personages are obliged to speak according to their historic
Digitized by
Google
210 RELIGION OF LOKD BYRON.
.character ; a distinction which is, at length, aclmowledged prettv
geneallj, and has superseded the absurd outcry against'^ Cain"
— causing the Poet's enemies to allow that, in his own words, *' it
was difficult to make Lucifer talk like a clergyman upon the
same subject/'
We now come to "Don Juan" — a composition which presents
the most beautiful poetry of any of Lord Byron's works, and at
the same time the greatest ground of accusation against his
moral and religions character. With regard to the former we
have here nothmg to observe ; in respect to the latter, we think
we can show that the evil has been magnified, and that sufficient
attention has not been paid to the time that elapsed between
the composition of the first and the last canto, and to the pro-
gressive change of opinions we have already began to trace in
die author's mind. The parody of the ten commandments is
the first obnoxious passage which we observe; and this we
pass over, as it only trenches upon the dogmas of religion,
(which at this time the author did, most certainly, not admit)
while we have for the present only to look for signs of a general
belief in a future state. The sentiments of the following pass-
age in Canto III., stanzas cii. and civ., compel us to quote them:
"And not a breath crept through the rosy air.
And yet the forest leaves seemed stirred with prayer.
Some kinder casuists are pleased to say.
In nameless print, that I have no devotion ;
But set those persons down with me to pray.
And you shall see who has the properest notion
Of getting into heaven the shortest way ;
My altars are the mountains and the ocean,
Earth, air, stars,— all that springs from the great whole,
Who hath produced and will receive the soul.'*
We have heard these passages quoted in support of Byron's
religious sentiments ; but they evidently only contain an assur-
ance of his religion of feeling, to which we adverted in the
beginning of this article.
In Canto VI., stanza Lxm., those questions and doubts
occur, which run through so much of tfie remainder of this
poem : —
''What are we ? and whence came we ? what shall be
Our ultimate existence ? what's our present ?
Are questions answerless, and yet incessant."
Canto IX. displays the author still floating "like Pyrrho on
a sea of speculation/' with the additional fear betrayed in the
•lines —
Digitized by
Google
RELIGION OF LORD BYRON. 211
*'But what if carrying sail capsize the boat?
Your wise men don't know mnch of navigation."
In Canto XI., stanza iv., the same doubts are more fiilly
displayed : —
" If it be chance ; or if it be according
. To the old text, still better ! lest it should
Turn out so, we'll say nothing 'gainst the wording,
As several people think such hazards rude."
The two following stanzas, however, clearly prove, from their
scoffing tone that he still rejected all revealed religion.
Moore, in his " Notices," records the opinion expressed by
Sir Walter Scott to Byron, at the time of their first acquaintance
— that " if he lived, he would end by becoming a Catholic." As
yet, we have seen nothing to warrant such a hope — for all will
allow, that even Catholicism is better than infidelity. Byron
has hitherto denied even the revealed doctrine of the resurrec-
tion, although we have seen that he has latterly expressed strong
doubts upon the subject ; and whenever he has alluded to the
Catholic religion, it has been to scoff at what he deemed its
doctrines and its practices. All the passages in his later works
bear, however, a very different complexion ; and lead the atten-
tive investigator to judge, that he was fast veering to that point
at which Scott had, nearly twenty years before, prophesied that
he would hold fast.
The next religious sentiment occurs in the Xlllth 'Canto,
stanza lxi. : —
''But in a higher niche, alone, but crowned,
The Virgin-Mother of the God-bom Child,
With her Son in her blessed arms, looked round,
Spared by some chance when all beside was spoiled ;
She made the earth below seem holy ground :
This may be superstition, weak or wild.
But e'en the faintest relics of a shrine
Of any worship wake some thoughts divine.*'
Then comes Canto XIV., stanza iii. : —
"For me, I know nought; nothing I deny.
Admit, reject, contemn ; and what know you.
Except, perhaps^ that you were bom to die ?
And both may after all turn out untrue.
Ad age may come, font of etemity^
Wheti nothing shall be either old or new."
We next find in Canto XV., stanza xlv., a description of the
only heroine on whose mental qualities Byron ever dwelt : —
Digitized by
Google
212 RELIGION OF LOBD BYfiON.
"Early in years and yet more infantine
In figure, she had something of sublime
In eyes which sadly shone, as seraphs shine.
All youth — but with an aspect beyond lime ;
Radiant and grave — as pitying man's decline ;
Mournful — ^yet mournful of another's crime,
She looked as if she sat by Eden's door
And grieved for those who could return no more.
XLVI.
'' She was a Catholic too, sincere austere
As far as her own gentle heart allow'd.
And deemed that fallen worship far more dear
Perhaps because 'twas fallen : her sires were proud
Of deeds and days when they had filled the ear
Of nations, and had never bent or bow'd
To novel power ; and as she was the last.
She held their old faith and old feelings fast.
XLVII.
'' She gazed upon a world she scarcely knew
As seekiug not to know it ; silent, lone.
As grows a flower, thus quietly she grew.
And kept her heart serene within its zone.
There was awe in the homage which she drew ;
Her spirit seemed as seated on a throne
Apart from the siurounding world and strong
In its own strength — ^most strange in one so young.'*
I
We have been induced to quote thus much of this beautiful
passage, because it appears to us that a yein of religious
sympathy pervades eyen the poetic description of this angelic
impersonation.
This canto closes in uncertainty; but it is an uncertainty
which betokens nothing of a light frivolous self-sufficiency. The
following extracts will show rafiier that the Poet's mind was bent |
upon serious inquiry : —
LXXXVIII. '
"He who doubts all things nothing can deny ; |
Truth's fountains may be clear — her streams are muddy j
And cut through such canals of contradiction I
That she must often navigate o'er fiction. i
LXXXIX.
"But what's reality ? Who has its clue ?
Philosophy ? No ; she too much rejects.
Religion P Yea ; but which of all her sects ?
Digitized by
Google
RELIGION OF LORD BTRON. 213
XC.
" Some millions must be wronp:, that's pretty clear ;
Perhaps it may turn out that all were right.
God help us ! Since we've need on our career
To keep our holy beacons always bright,
Tis time that some new prophet should appear
Or old indulge man with a second sight.
Opinions wear out in some thousand years
Without a small refreshment from the spheres.
XCIX.
*' Between two worlds life hovers like a star
Twixt night and morn on the horizon's verge :
How little do we know that which we are I
How less what we may be !"
Thus ends this canto in uncertainty : but the next, the last
of the poem, opens with the following sentiments in stanza vi. : —
*'And, therefore, mortals, cavil not at all;
Believe — if 'tis improbable, you must ;
And if it is impossible, you shall :
'Tis always best to take things upon trust.
I do not speak profanely to recall
Those holier mysteries, which the wise and just
Receive as gospel, and which grow more rooted.
As all truths must, the more they are disputed."
Such are Byron's last published sentiments on religion!
While we acknowledge how very different they are to his earlier
opinions, may we not hope that his mind was not far from
receiving the truth ?
REQ0IESCAT IN PaCE.
Digitized by
Google
214
THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
WRITTEN AT THE REQUEST OF HER BELOVED GRANDMOTHER,
THE LADY BETHUNE OF LINCLUDEN : COMMENCED THE IST
DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 1753.
( Continued from page 191.^
*^ Our roads separate here/' said Madge, and in a moment
she was gone.
In another moment, Harry and I were riding little less
quickly along the level road which formed the first part of the
way. By degrees it became more broken and rough till we
came to a part where it ceased altogether, or was merely a bridle
path, leading to a sheep farm, which lay far up the hill where
we had to cross. Harry had all this time maintained the precise
distance which he said was the correct one, and as yet neither
of us had spoken.
" Rein in now, and go gently — ^your horse does not know the
way and it is a gey kitde one,'" he said.
" Do you lead ihen," I cried, " and I will follow," which he
did, and so we mounted the hill ; the grey light of dawn increas-
ing and showing us the road, enabled us to mend our pace. Yet
Harry woidd, on no account, hurry the horses, as he said we
should soon overtake the time lost here when once again on the
level road, and distress them less. In my impatience, I fear 1
would have made them go more quickly. At last, we got to the
top, and a more beautifU sight I never beheld, for the sun rose
in all its glory. The shades of night fleeted away, and a mist
which hung over the river (which lay in the valley below us,)
slowly, like a gauze veil, curled up the hill on the other side from
the clear and sparkling river, whilst innumerable dewdrops, on
every twig and blade, glittered like gems in the flood of sunlight,
and the birds joined in the universal hymn of praise, which all
nature was offering up. In spite of the desperate nature of my
errand, I could not but pause a moment to drink in the beauty
— the freshness of the scene.
" Is it not a brave sight ?" said Harry.
" Beautiful indeed ! have you ever seen it before ?'*
** Oh, yes, often — last week I wanted some fine muir game,
and I am always sure of finding the best here, so we were up
then. Madge and I have seen everything — ^but now keep a tight
bridle-rein and follow me."
We then commenced the descent, and so fearful was Harry
of me that he took twice the time I thought necessary, ere we
Digitized by
Google
THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIpL. 215
were again on the level ground : — ^but when there he said, "Now
give her her head and never pull in till you come to the river.
Hurrah ! first there for a silver groat !"
" No racing, Harry," I cried.
"True, Madge said none — well, lead the way," and away
we sprang. The river was quite low, and the ford easily
crossed, and again we dashed onwards till we reached the home
farm. The men were busy at their work but our appearance
excited no surprise, from which I was led to imagine that pro-
bably they took me for Madge. The hall-door was open,
and Harry hanging his horse's bridle across a cleek put there
on purpose, I suppose, returned in a moment with a servant, who
.stared at me ; being the first who had paid me that compliment.
^^ Hold the horses till I come back, I shant be five minutes
cousin."
" Oh, but I must dismount — I have a message from Madge."
" Good then," and he assisted me .to alight, and then waiting
no longer, and forgetting that I was a stranger at the hall, he
hurried on, leaving me to find my way as best I could ; I
remembered Madge's directions and ran after him. He turned
to the right as she said, whilst I proceeded along the passage
to the door at the end. I thought I heard voices as I drew
near, and for a moment my heart failed me. I had not seen my
cousin for several years, and I felt anxious as to the reception
I might receive from him ; but retreat was too late, so knocking
at the door I awaited the permission to enter. It was given :
and on entering I found my cousin alone. He was writing, and
apparently had been up for a long time, if not all night ; for a
lamp still burned, and its sickly light contrasted strongly with
the broad daylight in the passage. My cousin was sadly
changed since I last saw him — ^his face looked careworn and
very pale, and his once dark hair was bleached as white as
powder. The stoop of premature old age had diminished his
height which used to be so conspicuous. He scarce raised his
eyes on my entrance but took me for Madge, for he said quickly,
" Well, Madge, well ?"
" It is not Madge," I answered, "but Martha," then he started
up, and addressed me hastily, " You, cousin — and at this hour
— what has happened — is Madge ill, or Harry ?"
" No, cousin — Harry is here — Madge has gone to Dunsmuir,"
and then, as briefly as I could, I told him my errand, my hope,
that in some way he might be able to prevent the meeting I so
much feared. He listened attentively, never once interrupting
me, and when I had finished he said, " and Madge told you to
come to me."
" Yes, cousin, she said you could and would assist me;, I
should say us, in this difficulty."
Digitized by
Google
216 THB DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
'^ Madge judged well — at least I shall do my best. Betum
to Mount Baliol, fair cousin, and dread no evil. If the meeting
has not taken place ere ten of the clock, it shall not after.
Master Edwardes^s life is too precious to be risked for a sillj
quarrel about a silly girl. Time presses for your return, and
for me to fulfil my promise ; therefore, fair cousin, pardon me
that I play the ancourteous host, and hasten your return, instead
of beseeching you to remain."
He rose, and, offering me his hand, led me to the door, where
we found Harry quietly waiting, his gun slung to his shoulder.
" Ah, papa," he cried : " I am going to shoot for a wager, and
Madge says I shoot best with my own gun, so I came across
the hill for it, and Martha came too — and now, boot and saddle,
as Madge says, and off we go !"
"You say well, Harry; and see you take good care of your
cousin, for she is precious to us all, though I fear her reception
here may not bear me out. Nay, do you hold her horse's head
whilst I assist her to mount. Old as I am, that is a privilege
I shall not readily yield;" and whilst settling the folds of my
skirt, he, in a low and emphatic voice, charged me to mention
to none his share in the matter, at least, not for some time.
It could do good to none, and might harm many. " Madge,"
he concluded by saying, " Madge evidently considers that you
are fit to be trusted, else had she never sent you on such an
errand to me ; see that you merit the confidence we repose in
you, and do not, like a silly girl, go prate of the matter to
enhance the obligation (which, believe me. Master Edwardes
will consider as none) of keeping him from risking his life for
such a frivolous matter as his place in a dance. But his is a
bold and daring race, and I like him the better for it. And
now farewell, cousin; in future, I pray you, be not such a
stranger at the hall. God speed you." He waived his hand, I
touched my horse, and away we sped.
And now I had time to think over the matter, to ponder had
I done right or wrong ? True, I might have been instrumental
in saving a human being; but were the means I had used
justifiable ? I feared not, as they must be kept a secret from
all I best loved. I was distracted by doubts, and had no eyes
for the beautiful landscape which so lately had charmed me.
At last we reached home. John was in attendance, and
received our smoking steeds. ^^ What must John think of our
early ride ? " I must have thought this aloud, for Harry replied,
" Good sooth, I know not, but 111 soon ask him. Hie, John,
Miss Baliol wishes to know — "
'^ If Miss Murray be returned,^ I said, finishing hastily the
question.
Digitized by
Google
THE DIART OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL. 217
Harrj forgot bis former question, and eagerly pursued this
one : " Oh aye, John, has Miss Murray come back ?"
" Na, sir, I'm thinkin she's had farer to ride than ye hae, or
she hadna been sac lang ahint ye.**
" Well, she can't be long, for Prince Rupert will clear the
ground with any horse that ever I saw," said Harry.
*^ Hark ! I hear her coming," I said.
^^ It's not Madge," said Harry, after a moment's pause ; I'd
know Prince Rupert's pace amongst a hundred. No, that's not
him, I'm quite sure."
And true enough it was not him, yet it was Madge. She
was mounted on a bay, which showed every trace of hard
riding.
" You've beat me," were the first words she said when she
saw us.
" And Where's Prince Rupert ? " said Harry.
^^ Quite safe, Hal, and will soon be in his own stall. Here,
John, walk this horse for the next half hour, and as soon as he
is rested, lead him quietly over the hill and keep him there till
I return. You can leave as soon as he is rested, and send
across the Black Douglas for me when you get home. Now
for breakfast ;" and, putting her arm in mine, we walked away.
'^ Madge, what must John think of this morning's excursions ? "
^^ Think ! Nothing ; or if he does at all, that it is lucky that,
at the pace we have gone, none of the horses are hurt by it."
" But will he not talk of it to others ? "
** Not if he value his future residence at the hall, His business
is to groom our horses, and not to prate of our concerns.
Besides, the man is so used to it. Many a time Harry and I
pass half the night galloping over the country ; don't we, Hal ? "
"Aye, Madge, and brave sport it is. But look ye, 1 have
my gun."
As soon as we got to my room Madge said to me, " I see, by
yourface, that you have sped well on your errand. Now tell me all."
I did so, and then asked her success.
" I succeeded well also," she said. " I went at a mad pace,
for I was nervous about you. I knew Harry would take care
of you, but the road is rough, and the light was so bad, so I
tore along, to prevent the possibility of turning back and going
with you ; consequently poor Prince Rupert was so warm, that
I thought it best, on arriving at Dunsmuir, to get another, and
told them to send mine home two hours after I left;. Hark !
there is ten. How few will think, when they see us at break-
fast, that we have been half over the country this morning,
whilst they were in the land of dreams. I wonder if any of
their dreams have been more improbable than our actions !"
Digitized by
Google
218 THE DIARl' OF MARTHA BBTHUNE BALIOL.
We proceeded to the breakfast room, but there were few
there ; Lord Derwentwater and my brother, but not Captaia
Mucklewham.
^^ You see, Martha, I was right ; he is a laggard,^' said Madge
aside to me.
One or two came dropping in, and then Captain M. He
went up immediately to Madge, and said,
^^ Miss Murray, I must apologize for taking your place in the
dance last night-^-"
" No apology is necessary from you. Captain Mucklewham,''
said Madge, politely, but in astonishment ^' It was your duty
to stand where Miss Murray wished."
Then was Madge right; this man was a coward, and our
labour had been in vain. " Love's labour lost," truly.
Lord D. then advanced quite friendly to Captain M., and
said, ^^In fact, I think we were all in the wrong, and that
we had best let the matter rest for ever. Do you not agree
with me. Miss Murray ? "
^^ Oh certainly," said Madge, in a careless tone.
"And now to breakfast with what appetite we may," said
Lord D.
"A veritable dragoon of General Hawley's," whispered Madge.
" Pardon me," Lord Derwentwater replied, in the same low
tone ; ^^ pardon me, had there been many such, Falkirk might
have ended diflferently for us."
" This is, then, a ruse to mislead us," she whispered to me.
Gradually the table filled, and we were busy discussing the
various dishes on it, and the previous evening, when a servant
entered and presented a letter to Captain Mucklewham, saying,
" The orderly said it was immediate, sir." Captain M. asked
permission to open it.^ I was so placed that I could see that
his face, whilst reading it, expressed great annoyance. He
rose and went to my brother.
" Sir Richard," he said, " I regret particularly that I cannot
accept of your hospitality for to-day, but this is an order from
my colonel, requiring my instant departure. Wilson, you and
Henning will accompany me," turning to two young dragoons
who had remained all night. " Lady Bethune, I trust that you
and Miss Baliol will forgive our abrupt departure, and allow
us at some future time to return you our best thanks.. Come
along, gentlemen;" and bowing to the company. Captain M.
and his friends left the room, my brother accompanying them.
I looked at Madge, but she was occupied in petting Speid, and
restraining his caresses from being too marked.
" Miss Murray," said Lord D., " you know every thing ; can
you tell me. what all this commotion is about? Have the
French landed, or what has happened ? "
Digitized by
Google
THE DIART OP MARTHA BBTHUNB BALIOL. 219
^' I shall know all about it ere long, but at present I am
trying to solve a more intricate puzzle."
"And that is?" he said. "To account for the friendly terms
that you and Captain M. are on."
"And can you not guess that ? "
" No ; there I am at fault. No matter ; though I have got
a check, I shall soon know it. A steady hound never opens on
a false scent, so I shall have patience."
" Then I leave you the pleasure of finding out the reason ;"
and no more was said upon the subject.
Ere we left the room, Sir A. Krimrose was giving an
account of some Roman swords which had lately been dis-
covered near Dunnipace, and was describing to Miss Murray
the difference between a Roman falchion, a Toledo, an Andrea
Fcrrara, &c., and was looking at the different swords the gentle-
men wore. Madge, of course, was handling the swords, as
she says she "dearly lo'es the cauld steel." She returned
Lord Derwentwater his sword. He chanced to be standing
near me. She gave a meaning look to Lord D. when returning,
it, and said, " The scent is breast high ; the hound no longer at
fault." He returned her glance, and put his finger on his lip,
indicating silence. "Fear not/' she replied. As we left the
room she led me aside, and said :
" Martha, I have wronged Captain Mucklewham ; he is no
coward. You and T might have spared ourselves our morning
ride ; he and Lord Derwentwater have crossed swords !"
"Already, Madge !" I exclaimed.
"Even so. I thought he was not the man to sleep long on
such an affront, but I had no idea that Captain M. would have
been so ready. However, this explains his apology. Ah, well,
his bootless ride will be a proper punishment."
" How mean you, Madge ?"
"Oh I mean, of course, as Harry Hotspur has it; if he ride
without boots, he cannot escape agues. But we must hasten
and call off these young ladies, who are worrying my dear old
grannie," and the next moment Madge was in the midst of the
group which surrounded her.
And all my anxiety was for nothing : the deed was done !
He was unscathed, and I cared for nought else.
" Come here, Martha," said my grandmother, " and join your
entreaties to mine, in persuading our friends not to leave us."*
This was " pressed day," so, after a proper resistance, they
agreed to remain ; all save Madge, who declared that she must
go to the hall, but, if possible, she would return ere the evening,
for we were to have a dance in the evening ; and Harry said
he did love dancing so dearly, that Madge declared, hap what
Digitized by
Google
220 THE DIARY OF MARTHA BBTHUNE BALIOL.
might, she would retom. And so sh« did, and brought with
her the news that the sudden call for the dragoons was in
consequence of some apprehended row with the miners near
Dunsmuir, but that the sight of them had quelled all such
intentions on the miners' part, had they ever existed. ^' But,"
added Madge, looking at Miss Peggie, whom my grandmother
had insisted on keeping: ^^but, ladies, you may 'stand at ease'
about the gallant dragoons ; they are uninjured in life and limb,
and have had no harder duty yet to do than sit and look frae
them."
Soon after Madge's departure my brother asked us if we
would go to the paddock, where the gentlemen were, and award
a prize to the best shot. I was very willing to do so, but the
Nunters and Lucy Graeme declared they were too great cowards
to do anything of the sort, for they were terrified at the sight
of a gun. Miss Murray and Jane Douglas were very anxious,
and kind Lady Stirling, seeing our anxiety, vowed that there
was nothing that she more delighted in than good shooting,
and that she would be of the party. Accordingly Miss Murray,
Jane Douglas, and I accompanied her.
My brother gave a small silver bugle-horn as prize, and of
course he tried not for it himself. I was glad, for Madge's
sake, that Harry was the winner. I hung it round his neck by
the silver chain attached to it, and nothing could exceed his
delight, poor boy. He put it to his lips and sounded a mort
with great precision. " Won't Madge be proud ?" he said to me.
"Are you to have no chance ? " inquired Miss Murray of my
brother.
'^ I should have none against Harry," he said kindly.
" Suppose you try ; and I will bestow this on the victor,"
and she took a rose from her nosegay.
" For such a prize I shall do my best," he replied, bowing.
" Gentlemen, Miss Murray gives a rose to the best shot. Now
Harry, look to your laurels ; this is worth winning."
"Nay, I meant not that," said Miss Murray, looking annoyed;
" I meant it but as a match between you two."
" I dared not be so selfish as to prevent others trying for
such a guerdon," he replied. " Now Harry, do your best."
" Never fear," said Harry ; " the bonnie rose will be mine,
and Madge shall choose between it and the bugle-horn."
" Fie, man ; Miss Murray will hold you to be a discourteous
knight if you give away a flower she has worn. Win it and
wear it," said Sir Richard.
And Harry did win it. My brother led him up to Miss
Murray to receive the prize she had promised, and which she
bestowed with a very bad giace ; but luckily he saw it not
Still more fortunately, Madge was not present to resent it.
Digitized by
Google
THE DIART OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL. 221
"How much rather Ellen would have given the prize to
another," whispered Jane Douglas to me, and then we went
away, Lord Derwentwater, Lord George Wemyss, Sir. A.
Primrose, and Kilmaine, accompanying us, whilst the othe^^s
announced that, having their guns, they would beat the woods
for black cocks.
Certainly Jane Douglas is a very strange girl. She accom-
panied me, uninvited, to my room, and sitting down, began the
following conversation. I shall watch this evening and see if
her words are true.
" Such a game of cross purposes as every one here is playing ! "
, '* How do you mean ?" I inquired, in amazement.
" Lookers on see most of the game, and your words prove it.
First, my Aunt Murray is dying to see Ellen Lady Primrose.
Ellen would rather be Lady something else. You know whom
I mean."
" Indeed I do not."
" What ! do you not see that she had rather dance with Sir
Richard, than listen to Sir Archibald. She gave the rose to
day, expecting your brother to gain it ; so it was doubly hard
that that unfortunate Harry Murray had the luck to do it, for I
can see that Sir Bichard would not give Madge Murray's little
finger for the whole of my pretty cousin. Surely you see that ! "
^'Richard care for Madge! No, indeed; you are mistaken
there, I am sure. We are all very intimate wiA her, but nothing
more, I assure you," I replied.
'^ Very well, I rejoice to hear that I am mistaken. So much
the better for Nelly."
^^ Besides, Miss Murray scarce knows my brother ; she cannot
care, for a person she has so seldom met, and who has not paid
her more marked attention. Confess that. Gould she ? "
" Oh they have met pretty often before this ; and then the
old song says,
'Oh lave will enter iu, whaur it daama weel be seen/"
"Confess, now, you are saying all this to amuse me," I said.
" Then I suppose you don't see that James Kilmaine cannot
take his eyes off Lucy Graeme?"
" I do allow that admiration."
" Oh, that's an attachment, if ever there was one. He is in
despair, his mother having set her heart on having anothef
daughter-in-law ;" and here she looked so fixedly at me, that
I felt my cheeks and brow colouring beneath her gaze.
"My aunt's heart is set on another, and his evidently on
Lucy Graeme."
" But I thought he admired Mary Drummond/' I said.
VOL. XII* 3ft
Digitized by
Google
222 THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
"Oh no !" she answered, "they are good friends, but nothing
more, I am sure. It was at Carbrechan he first met Lucy, and
we all observed he noticed no one else."
^* I do not wonder. He could see none more lovely."
" For that matter, I admire his own sister far more."
" Not so do I ; she has a fine face, but a want of expression.
Now Lucy's face is the index to her heart ; and Miss Murray
has such a haughty look."
" Tastes differ. I admire Ellen beyond every one, and great
is my wonder that Sir Richard does not. Yet I fear he would
not give your cousin's wit for all my cousin's matchless beauty."
"And what are my cousin's sentiments on this matter, since
you seem so much au fait in it all ? "
" I have yet to discover them. Ellen — ^but I allow she is
prejudiced — vows she is too much of a stable boy to care for
aught but horses ; or, as Madge herself would say, ' too fond
of horses to look at asses.' But I will allow no one to call my
dear Madge a stable boy," I replied.
" Oh I don't say it, for my opinion is that, if she cares for
any, it is for that handsome English boy, Edwardes." — (Jane,
being on the other side of thirty, terms every man under forty
a boy. Lord Derwentwater a boy! few men have done so
much, or seen more. And yet he is young ; barely twenty-one.
How different had been his majority had we had the auld Stuarts
back again !) — "And Nell says she is sure that she interrupted
a tdte-a-tdte in the small drawing-room last night, for when she
entered Edwardes and your cousin were in close confab."
I could not help smiling, remembering, as I did, that I also
had seen and misjudged that tdte-a-tdte, and that part of the
time was occupied in talking of our engagement. How little
one can judge of the truth fi*om the evidence of their eyes !
" So she fiiinks Madge is attached to — to — ^" and I hesitated,
for I dislike giving him his assumed name and setting aside
his own noble one of Derwentwater, and by it I ever think
of him.
" To Edwardes ? Yes, so she thinks ; wondering, I doubt
not, at the taste which prefers the dark brows of the one to the
sunny smile of the other." This was rather a homethrust, but
I held my peace.
"And does Miss Murray acknowledge her admiration of my
brother, for, but for that, I should doubt the whole matter."
" Nell acknowledge it ! Nell pwn such a thing ! She would
die sooner ; but, unfortunately, she cannot conceal it-^from me,
at least."
" Then does it not appear to you that I am almost the last
person that she would wish to know it ?"
" Perhaps so ; but I thought you would tell me if fliere really
Digitized by
Google
THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL. 223
is an engagement between Sir Richard and your cousin. I
would let Ellen know the truth, and trust to her pride soon
curing, at least concealing the evU."
" If that be your reason, I can easily assure you there is no
engagement. My brother has no secrets from me, so I am
quite certain ; and, indeed, I may say no affection, save such
as is natural between cousins; and she, being one of my
dearest friends, he meets her so frequently here, that he looks
upon her as a sister more than aught else, I am sure."
" I rejoice, for Ellen's sake, to hear this. I cannot endure
the idea of any one being indifferent to her," said Jane, eagerly.
" But do you not think that you would show your affection
for her more by concealing this weakness, rather than pro-
claiming it to me. Suppose, now, that I told my brother ! "
" Oh ! " she answered, hastily ; " Oh you never could be so
cruel — so cruel to me, to her, to your own sex. I won't leave
you till you promise me never to mention to any one what I
have just been saying — my own idle fancies."
"You may be at rest — I shall not mention the matter to my
brother :" and here Alice knocked and put an end to our con-
versation by requesting of me to go and wait on my grandmother,
but I am resolved to watch the parties. I have mentioned the
matter to my Lord Derwentwater, and we laughed merrily together
at the interrupted tete-a-tete ; and I told him that I also had seen
it — he said nought in regard to the letter, and I was equally
discreet. He affirms that he is too much occupied with his own
affairs to have noted any of Miss Douglas's wonders, and he
says that I had best allow all parties the freedom of choice.
But still I wonder if there can be any truth in my brother's
admiration for Madge — good sooth, I think not; and I am
certain that she cares not for him : but if he does, then adieu
to my hope of having pretty Lucy Graeme as sister, for he is one
not to be lightly moved or changed — indeed in that respect we are
alike; and although I have had but little experience, I cannot but
feel that my attachment for Lord D. will never change ; happen
what may, my choice for life is made, and truly I have no mis-
givings. I do not, I never shall repent the hour I pledged myself
to him.
To night I wore my rose coloured taffetas made with a neg-
ligee, which some think to the full as becoming as the hoop : —
Lucy was dressed in a blue lutestring : Madge in a green bro-
cade with scarlet stockings, which both my Lord D. and my
brother assure me are the newest mode, and truly they showed
off well the beauty of Madge's foot and ancle.
Lord Derwentwater was in a plain suit of pompadour velvet,
laced with gold ; Harry in a blue and silver suit, and my brother
r2
Digitized by
Google
224 THE DIARY OF MARTHA BETHUNE BALIOL.
wore the dress my great grandfather appeared in at Whitehall
on the Restoration, on the glorious 29th of May. It was com-
posed of murrey-coloured velvet. The doublet exceedingly
short and open in front, with no under waistcoat, displaying a
rich shirt, which bulged out over the waistband of the loose
breeches, which as well as his sleeves were profusely orna-
mented with points and ribbands ; beneath the knee bung long
drooping lace ruffles : he had a falling collar of lace ; a high
crowned hat with large plume, and his hair was unpowdered.
Feeling tired with my long ride I danced but little, so I had
time to look at the others. Kilmaine's admiration of Lucy was
sufficiently evident to all, but she ^merely received it, and
appeared in no way to return it. My brother danced but once
with Miss Murray, and to me it appeared she received with
pleasure the attention of Lord Geoige Wemyss, and Sir Archi-
baldPrimrose. One incident I remarked which occuiTed between
my brother and Madge : — Lord Derwentwater was seated beside
me, whilst Madge and Sir Richard stood at a little distance from
us — so near that we could hear their conversation, yet too far
apart to be one group. Hany came up to Madge — he had the
rose in the button-hole of his coat :—
" See Madge !" he cried joyously, " see I have the rose yet,
but I had far rather show my bugle-horn, for of the two it's far
the bonnier die."
" Ah, but you must guard the rose well, Harry : draw if any
one attempts to take it. Cousin Dick would give the best thing
he has for it — would you not cousin," said Madge, laughing.
" You know I would not," replied Sir Richard, quietly.
" He shall have it for nothing if he wishes it," said Harry.
" That would be making it good for nothing^ Harry — it would
never do to treat a lady's gift that way; you must guard it well,"
said Madge.
f* Very well, I'll do so — but the horn ! oh, Madge it is such
a brave one — ^how I shall make the woods of Gownor ring
with it yet."
" Since Miss Murray's rose is so highly prized, I mean to put
up, not throw down, my glove, to-morrow, and he who wins it,
may wear it," said Madge.
"If what the glove contains were added, I'd willingly give all
I possess to call it mine," said my brother, emphaticllay .
I looked at Madge — a brilliant blush rose to her cheek, but
she answered, carelessly, "Oh, you mean my fan," holding it up
— "you mean my fan — ^you shall have it at a much les price than
the bonny holms oiBalioVs Grip!''*
" You wilfully misunderstand me ; you know I do not mean
the fan, but the hand which holds it," said he, earnestly.
{To be continued.)
Digitized by
Google
2-25
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
The Right Rev. Peter Adgctstine Baines, Bishop of
SiGA, Vicar Apostolic in the Western District of
England, &c.
{Concluded from page 166.)
In the last number of the Magazine, I concluded the ^^ History
of the Pastoral," which had been printed, but not published by
Bishop Baines. His friends could not but applaud the triumphant
answers with which he met and overcame the ^^ charges" of his
opponents, while they regretted the spirit in which he came
down upon and overpowered them. Sarcasm, however refined,
is scarcely a dignified weapon in the hands of a bishop ; and
it was impossible not to feel that the " History " now put forth
was very difierent in manner, matter, and tone from the new
edition of which His Holiness had sanctioned the publication.
I have been charged with feeling '^ admiration for Dr. Baines^s
treatment of the converts, and narrating it with extreme gusto:''
in the first place, I am not aware that his Lordship treated
the converts, as a body, in any peculiar manner, though he
objected to and ridiculed certain particular practices which
a few individuals of their number would have introduced : and
secondly, I know not that I have personally expressed any
"gusto" or relish in the matter, though, as a biographer, I have
faithfully recorded the transaction. Although bom in the
Church mysQJlf, no one is more closely, more endearingly con-
nected with converts than I am ; no one would be more
unwilling to employ a word that could ungenerously reflect
upon the noble, disinterested, self-sacrificing, pious motives and
spirit that have led them to that blessed home, where I pray
that we may live together for evermore, in this world or in the
next.
Dr. Baines's History of the Pastoral was, to many, more
annoying than the Pastoral itself. It was reported to Rome ;
attempts were made to procure it through a bookseller's hands,
that it might appear to have been published : but these were
frustrated ; and Propaganda could only feel ^^ this man writes
powerfully ; it is not possible to touch him : the wisest plan is,
therefore, to leave him alone."
In his address to the reader, at the commencement of the
history. Dr. Baines observes : " I had the misfortune to incur
the displeasure of a respectable party in the Catholic body,
whose cause was warmly espoused by another very powerM
Digitized by
Google
226 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
body, to whom I was previously obnoxious." I have heard
various surmises as to what parties were here alluded to ; bat
from my knowledge of the conduct of Dr. Baines towards them,
it is evident to me that they must have been unjustly charged.
It is true that he objected to receive Dr. Wiseman, tiien
Rector of the English College at Rome, as president of his
own new establishment at Prior Park ; but so highly did he,
with the rest of the world, esteem the magnificent attainments
of his Eminence, that he earnestly besought Leo XII. to send
him, as a bishop, to England. His Holiness was strangely
inflexible : " Whatever you please, Monsignore," he said ; "ma
Vescovo, no^— he shall not be a bishop." The members of the
Society of Jesus, although settled at Stonyhurst, had no
recognized existence in England : at the entreaty of Dr.
Baines, the Pope issued the wished-for document, and delivered
it publicly into the hand of his Lordship : the cardinals and
court crowded around, and thinking that the English prelate
had received some great personal favour, offered him their
congratulations. Dr. Baines said nothing, but hastened to the
Gesu, and placed the document in the hands of the general of
the order. He read it, and tears streamed down his face.
" For years and years," he said, " we have sought to obtain
this, and now it is to your Lordship that we are indebted for it."
He was grateful. "Gratitude is a noble sentiment," the
author of " Four Years in France" remarks : " let the Jesuits
always be grateful."
On the 12th of January, 1842, being in Bath, I received the
following note from Dr. Baines. I print it here in order to
show those readers who may not have seen the.earlier letters
with which he honoured me, that I had every oppoitunity of
being well informed of his real sentiments on all the subjects
which I have handled : —
" Prior Park, January 12, 1842.
"My Dear Mr. ,
" I have been led to expect that your present visit to Bath
was intended, in part at least, for my gratification. I hope it
was so, and that you will allow me all the time you can spare.
I have much to say, which a few days would not be too much
to unfold : and I really know of nothing that would give me
more satisfaction than to have such opportunity afforded me.
Can you spend to morrow with me ? Or can you, which I
should infinitely prefer, spend a few days here ? With best re-
spects to , believe me,
" Dear Mr. ,
" Yours very truly,
+ "P. A. Baines."
Digitized by
Google
RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN. 227
I need not dilate upon what passed between us on this
occasion. I found his Lordship as usual struggling against
misapprehensions and misrepresentations, which were most in-
jurious to his own peace of mind, and to the prosperity of the
college of Prior Park.
One assurance, which Dr. Baines gave me at this time, must
be interesting to very many. We were speaking of Tom Moore,
the poet, whom all the world may not know to have been bom
and bred a Catholic ; but some of whose publications all the
the world unfortunately does know to be inconsistent with the
dictates of religion :
" Oh, he is a good boy now," exclaimed the Bishop in reply
to some observation of mine; "he is a good boy now : I have
been with him, and he is all right" — giving me to understand
that he had fulfilled his religious duties by Confession and
Holy Communion. This assurance may be a comfort to many
who lament over his present sad bereavement and inability tp
atone for the past.
In the same year, I received the following letter in answer to
one I had addressed to Dr. Baines. The subject explains itself
in a great degree : it is one that still presses with undiminished
weight upon the Catholic consciences of England, and still calls,
but calls in vain, for some such remedial measure as I then re-
commended, and would still as earnestly recommend : —
^^ Prior Park J November 27, 1842.
" My Dear Mr. ,
" To avoid the danger of delay, I write by return of post,
in answer to your favour just received. Like every thing you
write, this letter is full of good sense, and will bear discussion,
" In recommending to Lucas, the publication in the " True
Tablet" of Mr. Mason's letter, my object was not to recommend
the adoption of the plans of the Wesleyans, or Mr. Mason's
own, but to let the Catholics see how much * wiser in their gene*
ration are the children of this world than the children of light ;'
or in other words, how much more is done by others for a false
religion, than Catholics do for the true one. I want to bring
this subject before them incessantly, and thereby excite atten*
tion. Before any precise plan is adopted, the Catholic body
should be made to feel that some plan is necessary.
" For several years I have urged upon the bishops the duty
of making a candid and bold appeal to the Catholic body for
the supply of its religious wants. I wanted them to say with
one voice, * Christ has made no provision for the support of
His Church. He intended this to be done by those whp
possess the means. These, His intentions, imply an obligation^
of charity y if you will, but still an obligation, the neglect of
Digitized by
Google
228 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
wbich would exclude from heaven. Now, the Catholic clergy
in this country do not possess the means, but the laity do. On
the laity, then, lies a strict obligation, binding under pain of
grievous sin, to support religion in England, i.e.^ to educate
and maintain a sufficient number of priests and bishops ; to build
a sufficient number of churches, &c.," — (N. B. I say churches,
not steeples, and not necessarily Gothic churches) — "to accomo-
date the Catholics, and afford a means of conversion to a
icertain number of Protestants." This is the first thing T wish
the bishops to do. The next would be to devise the best means
for levying the moneys which ought to be paid. Here you and
I are nearly agreed. There must be official persons appointed
for the purpose, who must be paid by a per centage upon what
they collect. I should propose that a list should be made out
of every householder in every district, and that they should be
asked what they would contribute ; a certain ratioy such as you
suggest, being recommended. This list to be published, as
you recommend, at least once or twice a year, and put up in
the different chapels, showing who contributed, and to what
amount
"Sodalities might be useful, if it were only to couuteract
sodalities. The regulars have them, and turn them to great
profit. I know a wealthy Catholic, who, having become a
member of a kind of sodality in Italy, has for several years
considered it a duty to devote to the religious body with
which that sodality is connected, all her superfluous means,
i,o the exclusion of her own district, her own bishop, and her
t)wn pastors ! ! But such sodalities should not form an integral
part of any plan of general contribution.
"What you say of the wealth of the Methodist, and the poverty
of the Catholic mass, is true to a certain extent. But let a
calculation be made of the wealth of the Catholic body, and
you will find that they possess abundantly sufficient, without
contributing a tithe of their incomes, (poor's rates, pews, &c.,
included) to educate more than double the number of Catholic
clergy who are now educated, and to give more than double the
quantity oi space in churches. I quite agree with you that Gothic
steeples and pinnacles are, when space is so much wanted,
pointed abuses ; and I can imagine how the devil must shake
his sides when he gets hold of so admirable a man as y
and impresses him with this most ludicrous error, that unless
Pugin " builds the church, they labour in vain who build it."
"The first thing to be aimed at is the securing, hj foundatioti,
of our ecclesiastical seminaries ; the next, to provide a decent
support for the bishops, and clergy ; the next to build plain
spacious churches. I put the priests before ihe church, just as
Digitized by
Google
ilECOLLECTIONfi OF EMINENT MEN. 329
I would put the horse before the cart. When you have zealous
priests, churches will rise as if by magic, through their multiform
and indescribable instrumentality.
^^ All goes on well here. I have lost my Italian Fratelli, and
we aU ^ink the loss a gain : religious orders have always a
double object, the principle being self. The colleges are pros-
pering. My health seems to improve, though I am now taking
calomel, alternately with other medicines, daily. But my sole
complaint is decided to be the liver, and the asssiduous attention
paid to me gives me hopes of a thorough cure.
" Present my kind regards to , respectful compliments
to , and give a hundred blessings to all your little ones,
from,
** Dear Mr. ,
" Your very faithful and obliged Servant,
+ "P. A, Baines."
In the beginning of 1843 I received the last letter addressed
to me by his Lordship. Playfully and cheerfully as it is written,
it has a melancholy interest : —
^^ Prior Parky February , 2Srdy 1848.
"My Dear Mr. —
" I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your kind note for
which accept my grateful thanks. I was not aware that one of
my circulars had not been sent to you, and can only account for
it by supposing that my good secretary, knowing how much you
had done for tikis establishment, had not the face to ask you for
more. I think very much as you do respecting "the fervour and
sense" of my brother Catholics, and if in my Lenten Pastoral,
which I was dictating to Mr, Bonomi when your letter was
brought me, you find any such avowal of my sentiments, and
approve it, you may take a share of the merit to yourself. I
will send you a copy when it is printed, and with it, if I can find
•one, a copy of my Birmingham sermon.
" I had not heard of Mr. Urquhart, but am obliged to you for
putting me on the alert. He shall have no cause to boast of my
confidence.
" The " Tablet" has for some weeks past been managed by A.
which means, I believe, Ansty. He is a convert, fanatical,
and in my opinion dangerous — the more so, as he is clever,
and will I fear exercise more influence over Lucas and his paper
than will lead to the credit of the latter. However we shall see
when Lucas returns and resumes his editorship. I suppose
I am better ; but in the meantime, they have made me feel
worse. I am so weak from loss of blood, by a sort of hemor-
Digitized by
Google
280 RECOLLECTIONS OF EMINENT MEN.
rhage, that I can hardly walk up stairs ; but, on the other hand,
the bowels have resumed their functions, which had been inter-
rupted for the last fifteen or twenty years. If this improvement
continues, I am well and shall calculate on enjoying a visit to
you, the first spare week that Providence shall allow me, I hope
ere the ensuing summer is past.
^' You have seen that I have got rid of my Frattelli, fortunately
just in time to give Oscott the credit of their new acquisition.
I have already replaced them infinitely more to my satisfaction.
I will not add anything more at present, being pressed for
time, except to beg that you will remember me most kindly
to ^ and give my blessing to your little ones, alwavs
believing me to remain,
" Dear Mr. ,
" Yours most truly,
+ " P. A. Baines.
" P.S. — I wish you could suggest to Lucas to put underneath
the B. v., a notice requesting that before the paper is carried
to where all newspapers go, the Sacred Figure may be torn off
and burnt: an iconoclastic remedy after all, but better than
none."*
On the 7th of July, I received the note with which I must
close ^^this sad eventful history." Hereafter I may publish
other matter relating to my lamented and revered friend. At
present, I would only pray that those who unjustly persecuted
him may have the grace to repent, and that he himself may, long
since, have been received where the wicked cease from troubling
and the weary are at rest. The sad announcement was con-
veyed to me thus : — I inquire not if it was strictly accurate in
all its details : it will suffice to show the feeling of the public in
reference to a great public character : —
"My dear Son, — You heard of theExhibition at Prior Park, and
of the opening of the Chapel at Bristol on the next day. We
all feared that the. exertion would be too much for the Bishop.
Though he was in good spirits and preached for an hour and a
quarter, he felt too tired to remain during the whole of the din-
ner and complained that his hands and feet were cold. But he
returned to the dessert and joined in chorus with the Rev. Mr.
Jenkins in the song of the "Old Monk" — every verse ending
" Death will have us all." However, he got home and went to
bed apparently in his usual health. Can you anticipate the sad
news I have to tell you ? Indeed did I not think you would
hear it suddenly from others, I would not be the one to com-
municate what I know will distress you so much. This morning
.at half past seven, his servant went to him, and found him lying
Digitized by
Google
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR. .231
as though he were asleep : but alas ! it was only in appearance.
It is supposed that he had died in his sleep some hours previous.
The whole town seems to be lamenting the loss which society
sustains." *********
* The " CATHOLrc Magazine : " The " Tablet : " The
" Guardian :" The Converts. — In the preceding letters, there
have been several allusions to the '^ Tablet" newspaper and to its
editor : so much so as to point to this as not an improper place in
which to introduce the few observations we feel called upon to
make in reference to both. A recent number of this Magazine
contained a sort of oUa podrida article, which humourously intro-
duced a dialogue, the Protestant speakers in which mentioned
her religion as a reason against marrying a beautiful Catholic
girl of family and fortune ; this opportunity the writer of the
article improved into a mock-heroic address to our many recent
converts, beseeching them that, " instead of entering holy orders
(where I freely admit that you do incalculable good," said the
writer — ^this parenthesis is omitted in the "Tablet") — "they
should take unto themselves wives of our sweet and pure
Catholic maidens, in order to recommend the faith to hundreds
of worldly-minded parents, who are debarred from joining
us by the thought that it might mar the prospects of their
daughters."
This paragraph the "Tablet" informs us that it had itself
marked for quotation, but that "shame and indignation" pre-
vented it from laying it before its readers, until it saw it quoted
by the " Guardian." " Now, however," it says, " it no longer
withholds it ; for its readers ought to be enabled to appreciate
all publications calling themselves Catholic, while right-minded
Protestants will admit that neither Divine grace nor Holy
doctrine can, in all cases, secure a community from having to
deplore the imbecility and worldliness of some of its members."
We quite agree with the "Tablet" that its readers ^^ ought
to be enabled to appreciate all publications calling themselves
Catholic;" but it does not, therefore, follow that the "Tablet"
has so trained them as to enable them to do it. Our position
has compelled us, much against our will, to take in the
" Tablet" for some years, as a surgeon may be compelled to
dissect disgusting ulcers ; but in reading it after the Sunday's
holy service, we have always felt as though we were listening
to the "avvocato del diavolo — the devil's advocate," whose
business it is to misinterpret every action of the saints, and to
traduce all their motives ; and the feeling thus engendered was
not such as to " enable us to appreciate all Catholic publica-
tions." Few of our readers who remember the chastisement
which the "Tablet" received from a contributor in that very
Digitized by
Google
232 NOTE FROM THE EDITOR.
August number of the Magazine, will impute to the impulses
of "Divine grace or Holy doctrine" the spite which ever
animates it against this periodical. The "Tablet" may rest
assured that the " worldliness " of its motives and the bitterness
of its bile are perfectly appreciated in England ; that English
readers estimate at their worth the sneers with which it alludes
to this Magazine as a Catholic " New Monthly," and think none
the worse of it for that it mingles light reading with more
serious matter. Puritanic cant is hateful every where ; but it
is more especially so when it blends the leaven of old heresies
and superstitious bigotry with the pure glad feeling of Catho-
licism. We have never heard rational and devotional minds,
such as we rejoice to number amongst our readers, attach
weight to the imprecations of a virago, because they were known
to be inspired by personal animosity or pecuniary interest;
and although the " Times " newspaper has recently dubbed the
editor of the " Tablet" with the title of " Duke of Smithfield,"*
we are convinced that English readers will despise its insinua-
tions as much as they would have done if put forth under the
more appropriate parentage of a Duchess of Billingsgate.
When the " Tablet " wishes to stab, it always seasons the
stiletto with "Divine grace and Holy doctrine." We would
riot willingly charge it with hypocrisy ; we can make allowances
for constitutional ill-temper, indigestion, disappointed ambition ;
but, whencesoever derived, we do grieve to mark the scandal
given by its weekly exemplifications of the text, "See how
these Christians love one another :" and with all the solemnity
of a brother in the faith, performing a sacred duty to one who
has called him to admonish, we assure it that, of the many
English Catholic priests with whom, at different times, we have
spoken of it, we have never heard one who did not rejoice that
he had not the charge of the editor's conscience.
And now one word to our readers still entangled in the
sophisms of High-Church-of-Englandism, or happily escaped
from them, and converts to the faith of all ages and of all
nations. If our pages have at any time, while under our
superintendence, contained a single expression, the apparent
levity of which shocked their feelings, let them ask themselves
whether it was their pride, their self-love, or their sense of
decorum, that felt aggrieved. Their disease, as viewed by
Catholics, is multiform. Dr. Newman most excellently exem-
plifies, and endeavours to meet this fact ; but all writers are
not Newmans, and all readers have not the argumentative and
deeply studious minds and habits of many of his hearers. Are
* See article on the new Cardinalate in the " Rbgister.'^
Digitized by
Google
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR. 233
these to be excluded from all spiritual reading because it may
not be disguised under what, to them, is a more attractive ex-
terior ? Are these to be debarred from knowledge because they
cannot receive it under the sterner form which is appropriate
to scholars ? We wish thU publication to be considered as a
Catholic ^'New Monthly.^^ Let the highly-gifted men and their
Catholic friends to whom we appeal, be generous. No one
more truly respects them than we do. No one would more
truly grieve to express any thing that could wound their
feelings. But let them not impute evil to us because, as we
know the good that we do by it, so do we follow a different
system from theirs. Before what we are now writing meets
the eye of the reader, the Church will have received into her
communion some whose conversion — thanks be to Almighty-
God! — has been perfected by what they have read in this
Magazine : others have been led on by it to investigate, and we
have every reason to believe that their investigations will lead
to an equally happy result. This is the unvarnished truth.
Let, then, those who are designated to us as ^' the converts,'*
and their ^^friends,'* be charitably forbearing and generous.
Let them, with us, repeat Tasso's beautiful invocation to the
muse of the '^Gerusalemme Liberata:''
'* Oh Miisa ! tu che di caduchi allori^
Non circondi la fronte in Ellicona
Ma su nei ciel infra i beat! cori
Hai di stelle immortal aurea corona,
Tu spiri il mio canto e tu perdona
Se intessi fregi al ver, se adomo in parte
D*altri diletti che de 'tuoi le carte.
*' Cosi air egro.fanciul porgiamo aspersi
Di suave licor gli orli del vaso :
Succhi amari in tan to ingannato ei beve
£ dair inganno suo vita riceve."
Oh blessed muse ! — not thou engaged to twine
The fading bays of Helicon below.
But thou who, high aloft mid choirs divine,
A golden crown of deathless stars dost show.
Do thou inspire my song : forgive me thou
If decking Truth with fringe, my page puts on
Some charm that haply is not all thine own.
To sickly child thus give we medicine
From cup whose rim is sprinkled o'er with sweets :
He quaffs the bitter drink — the taste deceives,^
And from the fond deception life receives.
— ^Editor Catholic Maoazine and Registee.
Digitized by
Google
284
FUNERALS PERFORMED.
On the forenoon of a day in January, I was walking in Oxford
street, with a party of friends ; among them was a young Parisian,
lately arrived in England, and full of that intelligence and
observation for which the Parisians are so remarkable. He
stopped suddenly opposite a house on which was displayed in
large gilt letters " Funerals performed," and turning towards ine
he repeated the words, interrogatively : " Funerals performed ?
— performed ? — performance ? Is not that what you say of the
stage ? I have heard a * clever performance ' often said."
" And so you have," replied I ; " and don't you remember our
admired Shakespeare affirms : * that all the world's a stage, &c.' "
And continuing the quotation, and remarking upon it, we walked
up Holies Street, and found a French breakfast waiting for us,
at the house of a friend in Cavendish Square. The conversation
at table turned upon the Parisian remark. " You would
acknowledge it was a really good one," said our host, " if you
had seen the exemplification of * Funerals performed' that we
had within a few doors of us last week. Our wealthy neigh-
bour, Mr. Mann, died after a lingering illness ; his story is a
very common one in London annals : he came in early youth to
the great city to seek his fortune ; began as an errand-boy to a
great mercantile house, to the very head of which his untiring
industry raised him; he loved, it is said, and was beloved by a
merchant's daughter, but her father failed, and Mr. Mann's
affection did not stand the test of poverty ; she died, after years
of wearying toil as a teacher ; and he lived and prospered in
worldly possessions, and was an old man when he died. We
never heard he had any relations, nor will the lawyers be able
to hold out any hopes to the nearest of kin of Robin Mann of
hearing something to their advantage, for he willed his property
to national institutions, reserving a large sum for the expenses
of his funeral and of a magnificent tomb to be erected over his
remains in Kensal Green. His funeral was certainly * performed'
on the grandest scale, and must have nearly made the fortune
of the undertaker : there was the hearse with its six horses and
attendant mutes, followed by eight mourning coaches without
one friend ! It was a bitterly cold morning, and the streets
were hajf whitened by sleet, which a driving wind blew about
in a most unpleasant manner, and I watched the two physicians
and the lawyer as they got into the first mourning coach ; but I
am afraid their sorrowful expression of face was entirely owing
to the dreadful cold : the occupiers of the other coaches were
Digitized by
Google
FUNERALS PERFORMED. 235
the dressed-up and hired men of the undertaker ; and as the
procession moved off, and the body was borne without one tear
to its stately resting-place, I could not help saying, this is,
indeed, a * Funeral performed.' "
^ * * ^ m
The seasons had changed, and we were a party of tourists ;
up betimes, and hurrying from our hotel, in the city of Limerick,
to the quay, where we embarked on board a steamer for Tar-
bert ; it wa9 a glorious summer morning, and as we came down
the noble Shannon, I could not help contrasting its deserted
waters with the crowded Thames we had recently left, and
-wishing that commerce was more extended. At Tarbert we
readily hired vehicles to convey us to Tralee, and on our way
•we stopped near the village of Ballylongford to visit the fine'
ruins of Lislaghtia Abbey, founded in 1478 for Franciscan
monks. We had admired the tower and choir with its Gothic
window, and were leaving the churchyard that surrounds the
abbey, when we saw a dense crowd moving slowly towards it.
It was a funeral, for borne to us by the breeze, came the wailing
of the mourners, seeming to increase in grief as they approached
the burial ground. " Oh ! do let us stay and see a real Irish
funeral," said one of the party ; and we all drew aside within
the ruins and looked out on the sad procession. The coffin, of
rudest painted wood, was carried on the shoulders of six fine
young men, and I saw the tears coursing downr the cheeks of
the two foremost, as they laid their burden on a tombstone near
the freshly-dug grave. An old woman rushed out of the crowd,
and flinging herself on her knees laid her head on the coffin,
and burst into a passionate lamentation ; five or six elderly
women knelt near her, and two amongst them, with their heads'
laids on the coffin, declaimed, alternately in Irish, an eloquent
eulogium on the merits of the deceased, and from time to time,
broke out into the wailings of the " keen," the most heart-
rending sounds one can hear. It was answered by those around,-
and echoed back by the old walls of the abbey. There could
not be less than fifteen hundred present ; there were the peasants
from the opposite shores of Clare, the women in their picturesque
red cloaks, and the men with their gray frieze coats ; numbers
of the first on their knees among the tombs, and some of the
latter with their heads reverently uncovered. The deceased was
an aged man, who had brought up a large family honestly and
respectably, and whose life of usefulness had earned the regrets
that accompanied him to the grave. ^^ But these ' keeners ' are
well paid for their lamentations, are they not ?" asked one of
our party of a peasant near us. " Paid, is it ? why then, 'deed
and indeed they're not; sure they wish to compliment the
Digitized by
Google
236 VERSES FOB THE MONTH.
family, and so do all the neighbours that come to the funeral, —
a rale, dacent, honest family as there 's in Ireland ; that have
the good word of the whole country round. Ah ! God be good
to you, John Connor, this day, and those you have left keen
over you with their hearts, and would scorn being paid. You
had always the bit and the sup for the poor, and a helping hand
for a friend ;" and the speaker turned away from us. The poor
widow was forcibly taken from her place, and, amid the excited
wailings of the women that surrounded her, the coffin was
lowered into its humble resting-place ; and as we came away the
sons were supporting the widow, and I did not see a dry eye
among the group that were about her.
The shadows of the old abbey fell on the newly-made grave
as we left the spot ; the sounds of sorrow were hushed, and all
around seemed, as I could imagine the old man, smiling in
perfect peace. I was just in a train of delightful thought, when
the Parisian, touching my arm, inquired, " Is not this another
instance of a * Funeral performed?'"
VERSES FOR THE MONTH.*
ALL SAINTS. — FIRST NOVEMBER.
*^ Benediction and glory, and wisdom and fame,
^^ Thanksgiving and strength to the Lord."
So cry all the saints while they honour His Name
For ever and ever adorM.
From each region of earth, from each nation and tongue,
They stand round the throne in His sight.
** Salvation to God and the Lamb !" is their song
Repeated with endless delight.
Some are cloth'd in white robes, and with palms in their hands,
Brave martyrs from sorrow and strife.
And the Lamb shall rule over their thrice-blessed bands,
And lead them to fountains of life.
* From " C9iurch Hymns in English that may be axmg to the old Ghmt;h
Music, with approbation, and other poefms. By R. Beste, Esq. Published
by Boms and Lambert; and Jonesj 63, Paternoster-row.
Digitized by
Google
VERSES FOR THE MONTH. , 237
And there above the highest seat, —
Bright-clothed with the sun,
The shining moon beneath her feet.
With twelve stars for a crown —
The Virgin Queen of Heaven the Lord adores
And gentle homage to the Lamb outpours.
Around the throne, the mighty fouar.
The bright-eyed living creatures, sing.
And Him upon the throne adore, —
High poised upon untiring wing
'Mid noise and flash of lightning.
And there the twelve Apostles blest
Are thron'd as Judges, o'er the rest.
And many a martyr'd Saint is there,
And hoary eld and virgin fair.
Who, for the faith, have freely bled
And, by example, others led.
From every age, from every land.
Stout champions of the faith, they stand.
There are the earliest Christians slain.
By rack, and fire, and sword.
In many a hostile pagan's reign
Ere mighty Rome ador'd.
There are the missioners of grace,
Slain in some distant, unknown place ;
Beneath far India's blazing sun.
Or in the forests of the north.
Or in the kingdoms of Canton,
Wherever Truth had call'd them forth :
And those who, in these later days.
Have scom'd the alluring breath of praise.
And chosen in the Church to die
Bather than sanction heresy.
And holy Fathers who have striven
To keep the faith, by Jesus giveni
From doctrine strange : — for well they knew
What'er was novel was untrue :
All from their heights look gladly down
And number those their toils have won.
And virgins pujre, from every clime
From every age are there :
Sweeter than all, their voices chime.
Their looks more calm and fair.
VOL. XII. s
Digitized by
Google
238 VEBSES FOB THE MONTH.
And holy women without end
Their tones in that glad chorus blend —
Wives, widows, mothers, who have given
Their hearts, 'mid earthly ties, to heaven.
And some are there from cloister'd walls.
And some from scenes where guilt appals.
And some from rich and princely halls.
And from the altar, some.
From toil and want, are many more : —
Aye, thousands — ^thousands of the poor
Are there, at length, their sorrows o'er.
Are there, at length, at home.
Some with their own glad families.
Surrounded by earth's purest ties.
With added bliss that never dies
Are all together come.
All these, with the bright cherubim
And high angelic choir.
With jubilee repeat the hymn
In tones that never tire.
The heavenly powers give back the swelling sound.
And Holy ! Holy ! Holy ! through the skies rebound.
Hosannah ! to our God on high.
The saints in heaven proclaim :
Oh, shall not we, too, join the cry
And bless his holy name ?
Communion with the saints is ours,
Sweet fellowship with heaven :
We, too, will join the heavenly powers —
Our praise to God be given !
Though cold, as yet, our songs of love.
Our aspirations few.
Help us, ye blessed saints above,
Help us to follow you !
ALL SOULS. — SECOND OP NOVEBiBSB.
But not alone with the saints above,
We hold communion kind.
The mighty circle of Christian love
Is not to heaven confin'd.
All earth and heaven may not suflGice
To engross the Christian's sympathies,
While souls exist whom prayer may bring
From penitential suffering.
Digitized by
Google
VEBSES FOB THE MONTH. 239
Fond parent — child — ^relation — ^friend
And is the lov'd one torn away ?
Is that dear fellowship at end ?
And has the grave borne off its prey ?
Mourn not ! Mourn not ! The heaven above
Is a bright world — more bright than this.
They left us for a world of love :
Are gone before to endless bliss.
Oh ! who would doubt it ! They're in heaven !
D17 up, dry up those selfish tears !
But is it so ! . . Is thai forgiven ? . . .
Oh ! who can still these dreadful fears !
No slightest sin can enter there . . .
Were t/t'ey unspotted ? . . .
List the call to prayer !
Pray for the dear ones. Weep and pray
That God would wash earth's stains away ;
Those stains that still impede their flight
To heaven. Just God ! thou God of might !
Thou God of justice ! hear our cry.
Forgive them their iniquity.
Oh, they were dear to us on earth !
They taught our childhood — cheer'd our hearth —
Oh ! she was fond and true and fair —
He strove to ward off pain and care —
They sooth'd our age, its woes beguil'd :
For parent — ^friend — wife^-husband — child— -
For these, great God ! we weep and pray : —
Thus all their kindness we repay : —
Thus we assuage our doubts and fears : —
Thus — ^thus The God of mercy hears !
Our prayers avail ! They are forgiven !
And now they pray for us in heaven.
And hear thy Church, great God upraise,
Its wailing voice on thee to call ;
And while each for his household prays,
This day he prays with it for all.
This day, we may not pray alone
For those most dear to us, our own.
Our own dear dead. Our charity
This day, to all extended be.
Oh, moving sight ! mankind kneels down
And prays for those before it gone.
We pray for all, whate'er their race :
Oh ! bring them to thy resting place !
82
Digitized by
Google
240 VERSES FOR THE MONTH.
Whether alone on eaorih they moy'd,
Or liv'd here loying and belov'd : —
Whether they died long years ago,
Their place of burial unknown.
Or tears of love still hotly flow
On some fresh-carved sepulchral stone ;-
Whether from wealth and state they went^
And left in the broad world a rent,
Or toil and poverty sank down
Unmark'd, unpiiied and alone : —
We pray for ajlr-unite our sighs
And all together, sympathise.
Nor pause we here. Our prayers be said
This day for the forgotten dead : —
For those poor souls forgotten quite
Or who have lefk us friend behind : —
Oh, lead them, too, to joy and light :
Forgive their sins, their chains unbind.
We pray for all. Thy Church to-day
Calls on us all for all to pray.
Thy Church on earth which labours still
To join thy glorious Church in heaven.
Prays for Thy suffering church : fulfil
Our prayer and be their sins forgiven.
Promote this wide communion blest.
Let prayer and praise all souls unite.
Oh, give Ihem, Lord, eternal rest
And light them with perpetual light.
Digitized by
Google
241
REGISTER
CORRESPONDENCE, AND EVENTS.
The Editor of the Catholic Maqazivb avd Beqibtbb desires that his Corres-
pondents and Contributors may alone be held responsible for the opinions and
sentiments that each may express. But he invites onr Venerable Clergy and all
Catholics to send him information on all matters of religions interest in their
several ueighboorhoods.
CORRESPONDENCE.
Jbsu Christi Pa88IO.
Hon. and Rby. 6. Spencer.— A New Move for the Conversion
OF England.
To the Editor of the ''Catholic Magazine and Register."
(Continued from page 19SJ
I hare been a missionary in England during eighteen years, workmg for
the Irish, of whom, during that time, I have had many more to serve than
I have had English. Since I have been a Passionist, this has been true to
a much greater extent. In our missions generally we have, perhaps, ten
Irish to one English confession to hear. Once I have been, as it were,
within the jaws of death and out again, when so many of our English
priests actually did die, in attending the Irish sick of the fever in 1847.
Moreover, as a little thing to add to this, I have been for eight years and
more a pledged teetotaller, which I became out of love for the Irish. On
these and like grounds I found a little claim to be heard on the subject of
the Irish in England, and perhaps my experience of them may make my
testimony worth listening to. And what do I say of them ? I mean of their
present state and future prospects. I say that, at present, there are many
excellent Christians among them, but that the greater part (I had, perhaps,
better not venture to say in what proportion, for fear of a mistake,) are
living in a state of sin, and neglecting tneir religious duties ; and we, the
priests of England, are at a loss what to do, or say, or think of, in an
ordinary way, to help them. Now let us have this crusade proclaimed an4
preached, not by one poor weak voice like mine, but b;^ authority, to
which they will bow ; in short, let me be supported in calling them to the
great enterprise of conquering England for God and his Church, by a great
spiritual crusade, and 1 promise (perhaps in a loose way of speaking, but
not far from my serious meaning,) that in six months the Irish in England
will be a people of saints, and in twelve months we shall see England on
the highway to Catholicity, and the Irish exalted among nations to a
position, to which no nation ever yet thought of aspiring. Are the Irish
capable of such an enterprise? it will, perhaps, be said incredulously.
Indeed this has been said contiually, ever since J have been proposing it to
them ; and I have been saying yes, and again yes, and giving reasons for
saying this yes, which I cannot, for want of time, repeat here.
Digitized by
Google
242 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
I will only say, that what I saw at Thurles has exoeedintfly stren^^thened
the decisiyeness with which I again say, Yes, they are. I rejoiced, with
wonder, to see myself, providentially, the representative of the English
Catholics and the English nation, at the conclusion of that great synod
being, as far as I know, the only Englishman of any sort in the town at the
time s certainly the only one engaged in the proceedings. And what did I
witness I The Catholic Church of Ireland, just emerged, as she is, from
a state of depression and oppression, of persecution and of poverty, quite
unparalleled m ecclesiastical history, achieving, in the face of the overpowering
temporal Protestant ascendancy, which still exists in the country, a grand,
free, noble, ecclesiastical movement, such as no other Catholic people in
the world can attempt, and such as is, even in past history, at least for
many ages, without a precedent. I say this with confidence. There was
a book in the people's hands, drawn up to give an account of the nature
and objects of the synod, and the only authorities to which reference was
made, because the only ones to which it could be made, for information
as to the proper mode of proceeding on the occasion, were the synods of
Benevento, under the direction of Pope Benedict XIIL, and those of
Milan, under St. Charles Borromeo ; but these manifestly were not national,
but only provincial synods: and this synod was conducted under the
direction of a primate whom I have already above called a glorious one, and
who, I now return to say, appears to me to be chosen out of ten thousand,
and to go, if I may say so, beyond any ideal which could have been formed
of a man calculated to direct and carry forward such a movement in such
a people as the Irish, under the eyes of such a people as the English. I
heard prsdses of Dr. Cullen before going to Thurles, but my observations
carried mv opinion of him far beyond all I had heard. He seems to me a
compound of more admirable qualities than I can enumerate ; I could see
in him unaffected humility, unpretending simplicity, fervent piety and
zeal, profound learning, determined energy and firmness, first rate powers
of business and despatch, consummate judgment and tact. This was the
impression made on me; and what can I say? Beatus populus, to whom
God sends such a chief pastor. May they know how to value him, and
by their docility and obedience deserve the prolongation of such a life,
which appears none of the strongest physically ; but this, I trust, may be,
as has been seen in so many other cases, only to exhibit more strikingly the
power of God in what he may he the instrument of effecting. I would go
on further, but I must stop, only saying one word again for my own dear
England, which, I hope, will not be thought out of place. If there is, as
I have supposed, no Catholic people in our day which can carry out what
the Irish Church has attempted and splendidly accomplished on this occa-
sion, I attribute this not only to the want in them of such perfect and
healthy Catholic life as Ireland manifests, but to the jealousy and ill disposi-
tions of the governments under which they exist. Have not the Catholics
of Ireland and, of course, of England, reason to thank God for, and to
wonder at, the contrast to be seen in these countries? Not only no
opposition, nor shadow of opposition, from our Government to this synod,
but the Government police force, if not some of the military stationed in
Thurles, engaged in keeping order during the procession of nearly thirty
Catholic bishops, in copes and mitres, and of the representatives of at
least eight religious orders in their habits, besides a multitude of clergy in
Burolices, crossing and re-crossing the public high road between the church
and the college. Shall I be told I am wrong in drawing fresh grounds of
hope for England from what I saw at Thurles ? Well, I am used now to
such telling. I think my good friends will soon find it is not worth while
to try to discourage me, and perhaps a little later may begin to join me in
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 243
my hopes. It is not unkindly meant, if I wish them such a wish as this :
for assuredly they would find themselves more happy in the indulgence of
such hopes, than I think they can he in cryinf^ them down.
I am, your faithful Servant in Jesus Christ,
Ignatius of St. Paul, Passionist
P.S. The most important matter comes last, and stands by itself, so as
to draw special notice. The Sovereign Pontiff, Pius IX., has granted an
indulgence of 300 days for every Hail Mary offered for the conversion of
England. We shall soon have all Ireland saying it, and perhaps a hundred
or a thousand in the day. Perhaps some English Catholics will now think
it worth their while to say one now and then. But let me observe, that if
it is said without any hope it will not please me, nor do I think it will
much please the Blessed Virgin or Almighty God.
ECCLESIASTICAL INTELLIGENCE.
^ Thb Cardinal Archbishop op Westminster. — We think that we
shall most gratify our readers by laying before them all that our space will
permit relating to this most important step towards the rehabilitation of the
Catholic Faith in England. We will merely state that the increase of the
Catholic Bishops, if not the formal restoring of the Hierarchy, was pre-
viously approved by the English Government on the plea that the CathoUc
clergy were the best conservators of the peace of the country. — Editor of
Catholic Mag. and Reg. : —
Letters Apostolical op our Most Holy Father Pope Pius IX.,
establishing the Episcopal Hierarchy in England: — "Pius
P. P. IX. — For a Perpetual remembrance of the thing.— The power of ruling
the universal Church, committed by our Lord Jesus Christ to the Roman
Pontiff, in the person of St Peter, Prince of the Apostles, hath preserved
through every age, in the ApostoUc See, that remarkable solicitude by
which it consulteth for the advantage of the Catholic religion in all parts
of the world, and studiously provideth for its extension. And this corres-
pondeth with the design of its Divine Founder, who, when he ordained a
nead to the Church, looked forward, by his excelling wisdom, to the con-
summation of the world. Amongst other nations, the famous realm of
England hath experienced the effects of this solicitude on' the part of the
Supreme Pontiff. Its histories testify that, in the earliest ages of the Church
the Christian religion was brought into Britain, and subsequently flourished
ffreatly there ; but about the middle of the fifth age, the Angles and Saxons
having been invited into the island, the affairs, not only of the nation, but
of religion also, suffered great and grievous injury, but we know that
our holy predecessor, Gregory the Great, sent first Augustine the Monk,
with his companions, who subsequently, with several others, were elevated
to the dignity of bishops, and a great company of priests, monks, having
been sent to join them, the Anglo-Saxons were brought to embrace the
Christian religion ; and by their exertions it was brought to pass, that in
Britain, which had now come to be called England, the Catholic religion
was every where restored and extended. But to pass on to more recent
events, tne history of the Anglican schism of the sixteenth age presents no
feature more remarkable than the care unremitted ly exercised by our pre-
decessors, the Roman Pontiffs, to lend succour, in its hour of extremest
peril, to the Catholic reUgion in that realm, and by every means to afford
it support and assistance. Amongst other instances of this care are the
enactments and provisions made by the chief pontiffs, or under their
direction and approval, for the unfailing supply of men to take charge of
Digitized by
Google
244 MONTHLY INTELLIOENCE.
the interests of Catholicity in that coantry, and also for the education of
/Catholic young men of good abilities on the continent, and their careful
instruction in all branches of theological learning ; so that, when promoted
to holy orders, they might return to their native land and labour diligently
to benefit their countrymen bv the ministry of the Word and of the sacra-
ments, and by the defence and propagation of the holy faith.
" Perhaps even more conspicuous have been the exertions made by our
predecessors for the purpose of restoring to the English Catholics prelates
invested with the episcopal character, when the fierce and cruel storms of
persecution had deprived them of the presence and pa<«toral care of their
own bishops. The Letters Apostolical of Pope Gregory XV., dated March 23,
1623, set forth, that the chief Pontiff, as soon as he was able, had consecrated
IVilUam Bishop, Bishop of Chalcedon, and had appointed him, furnished
with an ample supply of fEu;ulties, and the authority of Ordinary, to govern
the Catholics of England and of Scotland. Subsequently, on the death of
the said William Bishop, Pope Urban VIIL, by Letters Apostolical, dated
Feb. 4, 1625, to the like effect^ and directed to Richard Smith, reconstituted
him Bishop of Chalcedon, and conferred on him the same faculties and
powers as had been granted to William Bishop, When the king, James 11.^
ascended the English throne, there seemed a prospect of happier times for
the Catholic religion. Innocent XL immediately availed himself of this
opportunity to ordain, in the year 1685, JoAn Leyhum, Bishop of Adrumetum,
Vicar Apostolic of all England. Subsequently, by other Letters ApostoUcal,
issued January 30, 1688, he associated with Leyhum, as Vicars Apostolic,
three other bishops, with titles taken from churches in partibus infiielium:
and accordingly, with the assistance of Ferdinand, Archbishop of Amaria,
Apostolic Nuncio in England, the same Pontiff divided England into four
districts, namely, the London, the Eastern, the Midland, and the Northern ;
each of which a Vicar Apostolic commenced to govern, furnished with all
suitable faculties, and with the proper powers of a local Ordinary. Benedict
XIV,, by his Constitution, dated May 30, 1753, and the other Pontiff our
predecessors, and our Congregation of Propaganda, both by their own
authority and bv their most wise and prudent directions, afforded them all
guidance and nelp in the discharge of their important functions. This
partition of all England into four Apostolic Vicariates lasted till the time of
Gregory XVI., who, by Letters Apostolical, dated July 3, 1840, having
taken into consideration the increase which the Catholic religion had received
in that kingdom, made a new ecclesiastical division of the counties, doubling
the number of the Apostolic Vicariates, and committing the government of the
whole of England in spirituals to the Vicars Apostolic of the London, the
Western, the Eastern, the Central, the Welsh, the Lancaster, the York, and
the Northern Districts. These facts, that we have cursorily touched upon
to omit all mention of others, are a sufficient proof that our predecessors
have studiously endeavoured and laboured, that, as far as their influence
could effect it, the Church in England might be re-edified and recovered
from the great calamity that had befallen her.
'* Having, therefore, before our eyes so illustrious an example of our
predecessors, and wishing to enaulate it, in accordance with the auty of the
supreme Apostolate, and also giving way to our own feelings of affection
towards that beloved part of our Lord's vineyard, we have purposed, from
the very first commencement of our Pontificate, to prosecute a work so well
commenced, and to devote our closer attention to the promotion of the
Church's advantage in that kingdom. Wherefore, having taken into earnest
consideration the present state of Catholic affairs in England* and reflecting
on the very large and every where increasing number of Catholics there;
considering also that the impediments which principally stood in the way
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 245
of the spread of Catholicity were daily^ being removed, we judged that th«
time had arrived when the form of ecclesiastical government in England
might be brought back to that model on which it exists freely amongst other
nations, where there is no special reason for their being governed by the
extraordinary administration of Vicars Apostolic. We were of opinion that
times and circumstances had brought it about, that it was unnecessary for
the English Catholics to be any longer guided by Vicars Apostolic ; nay
more, that the revolution that had taken place in things there was such as
to demand the form of Ordinary episcopal government. In addition to
this^ the Vicars Apostolic of England themselves had, with united voice,
besought this of us ; many also both of the clergy and laity, highly esteemed
for their virtue and rank, had made the same petition ; and this was also the
earnest wish of a very large number of the rest of the Catholics of England.
Whilst we pondered on these things, we did not omit to implore the aid of
Almighty God, that in deliberating on a matter of such weight, we might
be enabled both to discern, and rightly to accomplish, what might be most
conducive to the good of the Church. We also invoked the assistance of
Mary the Virgin, Mother of God, and of those saints who illustrated England
by their virtues, that they would vouchsafe to support us by their patronage
with God to the happy accomplishment of this affair. In addition, we
committed the whole matter to our venerable brethren the Cardinals of the
Holy Roman Church of our Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith,
to be carefully and gravely considered. Their opinion was entirely agreeable
to our own desires, and we freely approved of it and judged that it be carried
into execution. The whole matter, therefore, having been carefully and
deliberately consulted upon, of our own motion, on certain knowledge, and
of the plenitude of our Apostolic power, ue constitute and decree, that in
the kingdom of England, according to the common rules of the Church,
there be restored the Hierarchy of Ordinary Bishops, who shall be named
from sees, which we constitute in these our Letters, in the several districts
of the Apostolic Vicariates.
"To begin with the London District, there will be in it two Sees ; that of
Westminster, which we elevate to the degree of the Metropolitan, or
Archiepiscopal dignity, and that of Southwark, which, as also the others, (to
be named next,) we assign as Suffragan to Westminster. The Diocese of
Westminster will take that part of the above named district which extends
to the north of the river Thames, and includes the counties of Middlesex,
Essex, and Hertford \ that of Southwark will contain the remaining part to
the south of the river, viz. the counties of Berks, Southampton, Surrey,
Sussex, and Kent, with the islands of Wight, Jersey, Guernsey, and the
others adjacent.
*' In the Northern District there will be only one Episcopal See, which
will receive its name from the city of Hexham. This diocese will be bounded
by the same limits as the district hath hitherto been.
. "The York District will also form one diocese; and the bishop will have
his see at the city of Beverley.
" In .the Lancashire District there will be two bishops ; of whom the one
will take his title from the See of Liverpool, and will have as his diocese the
Isle of Man, the hundreds of Lonsdale, Amounderness, and West Derbv.
The other will receive the name of his see from the city of Salford, and will
have for his diocese the hundreds of Salford, Blackburn,' and Leyland.
The county of Chester, although hitherto belonging to that district, we shi^
now annex to another diocese.
"In the District of Wales there will be two bishoprics, viz. that of
Shrewsbury and that of Menevia (or St. David's), united with Newport.
The Dicoese of Shrewsbury to contain, northwards, the counties of Anglesey,
Digitized by
Google
240 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
Caernarvon, DenbiA:li, Flint, Merioneth, and Montgfomerj, to which we
annex the county of Chester from the Lancashire District, and the county
of Salop from the Central District. We assign to the Bishop of St. David's
and Newport as his diocese, northwards, the counties of Brecknock, Glamor-
gan, Pembroke, and Radnor, and the English counties of Monmouth and
Hereford.
" In the Western District we establish two Episcopal Sees ; that of Clifton
and that of Plymouth. To the former of these we assign the counties of
Gloucester, Somerset, and Wilts ; to the latter, those of Devon, Dorset, and
Cornwall.
" The Central District, from which we have already separated off the
county of Salop, will have two Episcopal Sees; that of Nottingham and that
of Birmingham. To the former of these we assign, as a diocese, the
counties of Nottingham, Derby, and Leicester, together with those of
Lincoln and Rutland, which we hereby separate fi'om the Eastern District
To the latter we assign the counties of Stafford^ Warwick, Worcester, and
Oxford.
"Lastly, in the Eastern District, there will be a single Bishop's See,
which will take its name from the city of Northampton, and will have its
diocese comprehended within the same limits as have hitherto bounded the
district, with the exception of the counties of Lincoln and Rutland, which
we have already assigned to the aforesaid diocese of Nottingham.
"Thus, then, in the most flourishing kingdom of England, there will be
established one Ecclesiastical Province, consisting of one Archbishop or
Metropolitan Head, and twelve Bishops, his Suffragans ; by whose exertions
and pastoral cares we trust that God will grant to Catholicity in that country,
a fruitful and daily increasing extension. Wherefore, we now reserve to our-
selves, and our successors, the Pontiffs of Rome, the power of again dividing
the said province into others, and of increasing the number of dioceses,
as occasion shall require; and in general, that, as it shall seem fitting in
the Lord, we may freely decree new limits to them.
'* In the meanwhile we command the aforesaid Archbishop and Bishops
that they transmit, at due times, to our Congregation of Propaganda, accounts
of the state of their Churches, and that they never omit to keep the aaid
Congregation fully informed respecting all matters, which they know will
conduce to the welfeure of their spiritual flocks. For we shall continue to
avail ourselves of the instrumentality of the said Congregation in all things
appertaining to the Anglican Churches. But in the sacred government of
clergy and laity, and in all other things appertaining urto the Pastoral office,
the Archbishop and Bishops of England will henceforward enjoy all the
rights and faculties which the other Catholic Archbishops and Bishops of
other nations, according to the common ordinances of the Sacred Canons
and Apostolic Constitutions, use, and may use ; and are equally bound by
the obligations which bind the other Archbishops and Bishops according to
the same common discipline of the Catholic Church. And whatever regu-
lations either in the ancient system of the Anglican Churches or in the
subsequent missionary state, may have been in force either by special consti-
tutions or privileges or peculiar customs, will now henceforth carry no right
nor obligation : and in order that no doubt may remain on this point, we,
by the plenitude of our Apostolic authority repeal and abrogate all power
whatsoever of imposing obligation or conferring right in those peculiar
constitutions and privUeges of whatever kind they may be, and in all cus-
toms by whomsoever or at whatever most ancient or immemorial time
brought in. Hence it will for the future be solely competent for the Arch-
bishop and Bishops of England to distinguish what things belong to the
execution of the common Ecclesiastical law and what, according to the
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 247
common discipline of the Church, are entrusted to the authority of the
Bishops. We, certainly, will not be wanting to assist them with our
Apostolic authority, and most willinf(ly will we second all their applications
in those things which shall seem to conduce to the glory of God*s Name
and the salvation of souls. Our principal object indeed in decreeing by
these, our Letters Apostolical, the restoration of the Ordinary Hierarchy of
Bishops and the observation of the Church's common law, has been to pay
regard to the well-being and growth of the Catholic religion throughout the
realm of England, but at the same time it was our purpose to gratify the
wishes both of our venerable brethren who govern the affairs of religion by a
vicarious authoritv from the Apostolic See, and also of very many of our
well-beloved children of the Catholic clergy and laity, from whom we had
received the most urgent entreaties to the like effect. The same prayer had
repeatedly been made by their ancestors to our predecessors, who indeed had
first commenced to send Vicars Apostolic into England, at a time when it
was impossible for any Catholic Prelate to remain there in possession of a
Church by right in ordinary; and hence their design in successively
augmenting the number of Vicariates and Vicarial Districts, was not
certainly that Catholicity in England should always be under an extra*
ordinary form of government, but rather looking forward to its extension in
process of time, they were paving the way for the ultimate restoration of the
Ordinary Hierarchy there.
*• And therefore, we, to whom by God's goodness, it hath been granted to
complete this great work, do now hereby declare, that it is very far from our
intention or design, that the prelates of England now possessing the title and
rights of Bishops in ordinary, should, in any other respect be deprived of any
advantages which they have enjoyed heretofore under the character ofVicars-
Apostolic. For it would not be reasonable, that the enactments we now
make at the instance of the English Catholics, for the good of religion in
their country, should turn to the detriment of the said Vicars-Apostolic.
Moreover, we are most firmly assured, that the same our beloved children
in Christ, who have never ceased to contribute by their alms and liberality,
tinder such various circumstances to the support of Catholic religion and of
the Vicars-Apostolic, will henceforward manifest even greater liberality
towards bishops who are now bound by a stronger tie to the Anglican
Churches, so that these same may never be in want of the temporal means
necessary for the expenses of the decent splendour of the Churches, and of
divine service, and of support of the clergy, and relief of the poor. In con-
clusion, lifting up our eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh our help, to
God Almighty and All-merciful, with all prayer and supplication, we humbly
beseech Him, that He would confirm by the power of His divine assistance all
that we have now decreed for the good of the Church ; and that He would
bestow the strength of his grace on those, to whom the carrying out of our
decrees chiefly belongs, that they feed the Lord's flock which is amongst them,
and that they may ever increase in diligent exertion to advance the greater
glory of His name. And, in order to obtain the more abundant succours of
heavenly grace for this purpose, we again invoke, as our intercessors with
God, the most holy Mother of God, the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul,
with the other heavenly Patrons of England, and especially, St. Gregory the
Great, that since it is now granted to our so unequal deserts, again to restore
the Episcopal Sees in England, which he first effected to the very great advan-
tapre of the Church, this restoration also, which we make of the Episcopal
Dioceses in that kingdom, may happily turn to the benefit of the Catholic
religion. And we decree that these our Letters Apostolical shall never at any
time be objected against or impugned, on pretence either of omission, or of
addition or defect either of our intention, or any other whatsoever; but shall
Digitized by
Google
248 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
alwajrs be valid and in force, and shaU take effect in aU particulars, and
and be inviolably observed. All general or special enactments not\vitbstand-
inif, whether Apostolic, or issued in Synodical Provincial, and Universal
Councils; notwithstanding also all rights and privileges of the ancient Sees
of England, and of the Missions and of the Apostolic Vicariates, subsequently
then established, and of all Churches whatsoever, and pious places, whethw
established by oath, or by Apostolic confirmation, or by any other security
whatsoever; notwithstanding, lastly, all other things to the contrary what-
soever. ^
"For all these things, in as far as thev contravene the foregoing enact-
ments. although a special mention of them may be necessary for their
repeal, or some other form, however particular, necessary to be obsered we
expressly annul and repeal. Moreover, we decree, that if, in any other
manner, any other attempt shall be made by any person, or by any authority
knowingly or ignorantly to set aside these enactments, such attempt shall
oe null and void. And it is our will and pleasure, that copies of these our
Letters bemff printed, and subscribed by the hand of a Notary public and
sealed with the seal of a person high in Ecclesiastical dignity shall have the
aame authenticity, as would belong to the expression of our will by the pro.
duction of this original copy. ^
"Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, under the Seal of the Fisherman, this
29th day of September, 1850, in the fifth year of our Pontificate,
"A. Cardinal Lambruschinl"
" To THE Editor op the 'Times.'— Sir,— As the only Cathohc
bishop now m England who has been immediately engaged in negotiating
the re-establishment of our episcopal hierarchy, I beg to offer a few remarks
bearing reference to your strictures on that measure. '
" It is an act solely between the Pope and his own spiritual subjects, who
are recognized as such by the Emancipation Act. It regards only spiritual
matters. In all temporal matters we are subect to, and are guided by the
laws of the land.
"Every communion in the land has its own tentorial divisions of the
country for religious purposes, with reference to its own members. The
Episcopalians in Scotland, and the Wesleyans in England, each mark ont
territorial lines for their own purposes of spiritual jurisdiction, and the ad-
ministration of the temporalities of their churches. These are acts of
religious jurisdiction ; and the Catholic community cannot exercise iurifl-
diction without the Pope. Now, the increase of Catholics in England, not
merely by conversions, but far more by the vast influx of Irish subjects,
necessarily demanded an increase of bishops. Bishops cannot be increased
amongst us except by the Pope, nor without a new territorial division In
1688 England was divided into four vicariates. In 1840 the four were airain
divided into eight. In 1850 the eight vicariates are again divided and
changed into thirteen dioceses. This last change is the result of frequent
and earnest petitions from the Catholics of England to the Pope. In 1846
two bishops proceeded to Rome with a view to this matter, on the ground
of the spiritual wants of the Catholics of England. In 1848 another bishop
was delegated to the Holy See with still more earnest petitions for an increase
of bishops and the establishment of the hierarchy. The arrangement was
then brought to its conclusion, when the troubles which befel the Roman
States put a temporary stop to its execution.
" In America and in our own colonies similar new divisions of territory
have been continually made with increase in our episcopacy, without exciting
a clamour at the spiritual wants of our fellow-Catholics being thus provided
for as their numbers increased. Either the power is in our hands of obtaining
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 249
all necessary supplies for our spiritual wants as Catholics, or else a real
emancipation is not yet granted to us.
'' By changinf|r the Vicars Apostolic into Bishops in Ordinary, the Pope,
instead of increasing, has given up the exercise of a portion of his power
over his spiritual subjects in this country; those not such are in no way
affected by his act.
" It is difficult for the uninitiated to comprehend the technicalities of a
Papal document. Hitherto, and for ages past, the Pope has acted not
merely as chief pastor, but also as immediate bishop, in this country. He
has governed through his own vicars, bishops holding foreign sees, nominated
by the Pope as bis vicars, and revocable at his will. By establishing the
hierarchy the Pope has divested himself of the office of our immediate
bishop, and has conferred it on Englishmen instead.
'* Catholic bishops in England are no longer the Pope's vicars, but English
bishops, having power to form their own constitution of government by express
concession, and no longer revocable at will, whilst their successors will be
raised to their sees by canonical election. The entire measure has been one of
liberality and concession on the part of His Holiness, and as such the Catholics
of England understand it and receive it with gratitude. We feel that His
Holiness has transferred from his own hands into ours the local episcopacy,
and that even as Sovereign Pontiff he has set limits to bis power in regard to
us by constituting the canonical order of things, and literally giving us sell-
government, retaining onlv bis supremacy. U is as unfair to confound tbis
boon of liberty to the Catnolic Church in England with ideas of aggression
on the English Government and people as it is to confoimd the acts oi
Pius IX. as Pope with the notion of his temporal sovereignty. For mv part^
engaged as I have been in the negotiation throughout, I know that no
political objects are contemplated in it. It was an arrangement much needed
by the Catholics of England for their spiritual concerns, and I am, with all
English Catholics, thankful for it, and I have no fear or alarm for conse-
quences.
" I am, Su:, your very obedient servant,
* ''W. B. ULLATHORNE.
"Bishop's House, Burmingham, Oct. 22, 1850."
Rome. — ^Acts of the Secret Consistory Held by His Holiness
OUR Lord Pope Pius IX., happily reigning in the Apostolic
Palace of the Vatican, the 30th of September, 1850.
His Holiness our Lord Pope Pius IX., held this morning in the Apostolic
Palace of the Vatican, the secret consistory in which after a short allocution
he proposed the following churches : —
The Metropolitan Church of Canua, for Mgr. Joseph Cozenza, transferred
from the Cathedral Church of Andria.
The Metropolitan Church of Cambray, for Mgr. Rend Fran9ois Regnier,
transferred from the Cathedral Church of Angouldme.
The Metropolitan Church of Agria, in Hungary, for Mgr. Adalbert Bar-
takovics, transferred from the Cathedral Church of Rosnavia.
The Metropolitan Church of Mexico, in North America, for Mgr. Lazarus
de la Garza, transferred from the Cathedral Church of Sonora.
The Cathedral Church of Terama, for Mgr. Pascal Taccone, transferreii
from the Cathedral Church of Bova.
The Cathedral Church of Brescia, in Lombardy, for the R. D. Jerone '
Verzeriy priest of Bergamo, definitor for the solution of cases of conscience,
Digitized by
Google
250 MONTHLY INTELLIGKNCE.
inspector of the elementary schools of that province^ and canon of the
cathedral of Bergamo.
The Cathedral Church of Treviso, in Lomhardy, for the R. D. Antoine
Farina, diocesan priest of Vicenza, canon of that cathedral, founder of the
pious estahlishment of masters of Dorothea, pro-synodal examiner, censor
for the revision of books, and rector of the royal Lyceum, as well as of the
public school for little girls.
The Cathedral Church of AngoulSme, for the R. D. Antoine Charles Cous-
seau, diocesan priest of Poitiers, professor and superior of the grand
seminary of that town.
The Cathedral Church of Rosnavia, io Hungary, for the R. D. Etienne
KoUaresik diocesan priest of Cassoria, canon of that cathedral.
The Cathedral Church of Scepusio, or Zips, in Hungary, for the R. D.
Ladislaus Zaboisky, diocesan priest of Cassovia, honorary canon of the
Cathedral of Scepusio, cur^ of Iglo and doctor in theology.
llie Cathedral Church of Hildesherim, in Hanover, for the R. D. Odzard
Jacques Wedekin, diocesan priest of Hildesherim, canon of that cathedral
and vicar capitular of that same town and diocese.
The Episcopal Church of Sebastian, in parHbtu infidelium for the R. D.
Stanislaus Dekowski, diocesan priest of Culm, titular canon of that cathedral,
Spiscopid commissioner and vicar general of the bishop of that diocese,
eputy sufiragon at the Cathedral of Culm.
His Holiness then proclumed Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church.
Of the order of Priests.
Mgr. Raphael Fomari, Archbishop of Nice, Apostolic Nuncio, to the
French Republic, born at Rome, the 23rd of January, 1787, reserved in petto
in the secret consistonr of the 21st December, 1846.
After which. His Holiness created and proclaimed Cardinals of the Holy
Roman Church.
Of the order of Priests.
Mgr. Paul Therese David D' Astros, Archbishop of Toulouse, in France,
born at Tours, the 13th of October, 1772.
Mgr. Jean Joseph fionnel y Orbo, Archbishop of Toledo, in Spain, born
at Pinos della Valle, in the Archbishopric of Grenada, on the 17th of March,
1782.
Mgr. Joseph Cosenza, Archbishop of Capoua, in the kingdom of the two
Sicilies, born at Naples, on the 20tn of February, 1788, transferred from the
Episcopal Church of Adria.
Mgr. Jacques Marie Adrien Cessar Mathieu, Archbishop of Besan9on, in
France, bom at Paris, on the 20th of January, 1796.
Mgr. Jude Joseph Romo, Archbishop of Senile, in Andalusia, in Spain,
born at Cavixar, in the Archbishopric of Toledo, on the 9th of January, 1779.
Mgr. Thomas Gousset, Archbishop of Rheims, in France, born at Mon-
tigny-les-Cherlieuz, in the Archbishopric of Besan^on, on the Ist of May,
1792.
Mgr. Maximilian Joseph Godefioi Baron of Semerand-Beekh, Archbishop
of Olmutz, in Mora?ia, born at Vienna, on the 21st of December, 179^-
Mgr. Jean Geissel, Archbishop of Cologne, in the states of the King of
Prossia, in Germany, bom at Gianmieldingen, in the diocese of Spires, on
the 4th of February, 1796.
Mgr. Pierre Paul de Figueredo de Cuntra e Mello, Archbishop of Braga,
in Portugal, born at Faverro, in the diocese of Coimbra, on the 19th of
June, 1770.
Mgr. Nicolas Wiseman, Archbishop of Westminster, in England, a
Metropolitan Church recently erected by His Holiness, transferred from the
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 251
Church of Melipotamas, inpartibtu, vicar apostolic of the London District,
bom at Seville, on the 2nd of August, 1802.
Mgr. Joseph Pecci, Bishop of Gubio, born at Gubio, on the 13th of April,
1776.
Mgr. Melchior de Diepenbrock, Bishop of Breslan, in Silesia, born at
Bochald, in the diocese of Munster, on the 9th of January, 1798.
Of the order of Deacons.
Mgr. Roberto Robert!, Auditor General of the R Apostolic Chamber, bom
at St. Guisto, in the diocese of Fermo, on the 23rd of December, 1788.
At the conclusion of the Consistory, a request was made to His Holiness
for the sacred pallium for the Metropolitan Churches of Cambray, Agroa,
and Mexico, also for the Archiepiscopid Churches of Port de Espagne, in the
island of Trinidad, in favour of Mgr. Richard Peter Smith, of New York, in
favour of Mgr. Johu Hughes, of New Orleans, in favour of Mgr. Anthony
Blanc, and of Cincinnati, in favour of John Baptist Purcell.
The Nbw Cardinals.— The Roman Correspondent of the "Dailr
News'' writes, on the 4th instant: — ''The first part of the initiation or
creation of the new cardinals took place on Monday, for as Rome was not
built in a day, so neither is a cardinal of the Roman Church made in a day ;
and if the Pope, who commences the ceremony, were to die before the day
fixed for its cooclusion, the half-created cardinals, so abandoned in medioi
res, would have no right to sit in the Sacred Conclave. Fortunately no
such ill-omened event has ilisturbed the course of events in the present
instance, and the fourteen new cardinals are now legally entitled to their
scarlet hats and ecclesiastical dignitv. Cardinal Wiseman received his
visitors in the apartments of Cardinal Ferretti, at the Consulta Palace, on
the Quirinal, and Princess Doria did the honours for him. He was extremely
affable to his numerous visitors, amongst whom I remarked manv members
of the Sacred College, the corps diplomatique, the Roman nobility, and
several English residents, although it is by no means as yet the season for
birds of passage. The British consul was also present, and the consulate
was brilliantly illuminated. The costume worn by their Eminences on
Monday was merely that of prelates, with the exception of a bright scarlet
scull-cap, the complete cardinai*s robes only having been conferred upon
them by His Holiness, after their having taken the oaths in the Public Con-
sistory, held yesterday morning at the Vatican. But in their second reception
yesterday evening, their Eminences blazed forth in full splendour, the
tall figure and portly form of Cardmal Wiseman especially oecoming the
flowing purple. Of the whole fourteen Cardinal Wiseman is the youngest,
being only forty-eight years of age ; whilst the eldest is the Portuguese
Arcm)ishop, who has waited for the scarlet hat until the venerable age of
eighty. Only four cardinals are now wanting to complete the Sacred
College.
PASTORAL LETTER.
" Nicholas, by the Divine Mercy, of the Holy Roman Church by the
Title of St. Padentiana Cardinal Priest, Archbishop of Westminster, and
Administrator Apostolic of the Diocese of Southwark.
''To our Dearly Beloved in Christ, the Clergy Secular and Regular, and
the Faithful of the said Archdiocese and Diocese.
''Health and Benediction in the Lord:
" If this day we greet you under a new title, it is not, dearly beloved, with
an altered affection. If in words we seem to divide those, who till now have
formed, under our rule, a single flock, our heart is as undivided as ever, in
your regard. For now truly do we feel closely bound to you by new and
stronger ties of charity ; now do we embrace you in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Digitized by
Google
252 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
with more tender emotions of paternal love; now doth our soul yearn, and
our mouth is open to you ;* thoufjrh words must fail to express what we feel,
on heing once again permitted to address you. For if our parting was in
sorrow, and we durst not hope that we should again face to face hehold you,
our heloved flock ; so much the greater is now our consolation and our joy,
when we find ourselves, not so much permitted, as commissioned, to return
to you, by the Supreme Ruler of the Church of Christ.
'* But how can we for one moment indulge in selfish feelings, when through
that loving Father's generous and wise counsels, the greatest of all blessings
has just been bestowed upon our country, by the restoration of its true
Catholic hierarchial government, in communion with the See of Peter.
*' For on the twenty-ninth day of last month, on the Feast of the Archangre]
St. Michael, Prince of the Heavenly Host, His Holiness Pope Pius IX. was
graciouslv pleased to issue his letters Apostolic, under the Fisherman's Ring,
conceivea in terms of great weight and dignity, wherein he substituted, for
the eight Apostolic Vicariates heretofore existing, one Archiepiscopal or
Metropolitan and twelve Episcopal Sees: repealing at the same time,
and annulling, all dispositions and enactments, made for England by the
Holy See, with reference to its late form of ecclesiastical government.
"And by a Brief dated the same day. His Holiness was further pleased to
appoint UB, though most unworthy, to the Archiepiscopal See of Westminster,
established by the above-mentioned letters Apostolic, giving us at the same
time the Administration of the Episcopal See of Southwark. So that at
present, and till such time as the Holy See shall think fit otherwise to
frovide, we govern and shall continue to govern, the counties of Middlesex,
lertford and Essex, as Ordinary thereof, and those of Surrey, Sussex, Kent,
Berkshire, and Hampshire, with the islands annexed, as Administrator with
Ordinary jurisdiction.
"Further we have to announce to you, dearly beloved in Christ, that, as if
still further to add solemnity and honour before the Church to this noble act
of Apostolic authority, and to give an additional mark of paternal benevolence
towards the Catholics of England, His Holiness was pleased to raise us, in
the private Consistory of Monday, the 30th of September, to the rank of
Cardinal Priest of tne Holy Roman Church. And on the Thursday next
ensuing, being the third da^ of this month of October in public Consistory,
he delivered to us the insignia of this dignity, the Cardinalitial Hat ; assigning
us afterwards for our title in the private Consistory which we attended, the
Church of St. Pudentiana, in which St. Peter is groundedly believed to have
enjoyed the hospitality of the noble, and partly British family of the Senator
Pudens.
" In that same Consistory we were enabled ourselves to ask for the Archi-
episcopal Pallium for our new See of Westminster ; and this day we have
been invested, by the hands of the Supreme Pastor and PontifiT himself, with
this badge of Metropolitan Jurisdiction.
"The great work then is complete; what you have long desired and
prayed for is granted. Your beloved country has received a place among the
fair Churches, which, normally constituted, form the splenaid aggregate of
Catholic Communion ; Catholic England has been restored to its orbit io
the ecclesiastical firmament, and which its light had long vanished, and
begins now anew its course of regularly adjusted action, round the centre ot
unity, the source of jmrisdiction, of light and of vigour. How wonderfully-
all this has been brought about, how clearly the hand of God has been shown
in every step we have not now leisure to relate ; but we ma^ hope soon to
recount to you by word of mouth. In the meantime we wiU content our*
• Cor.Ti.Jl.
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 253
selves with assuring you, that, if the concordant voice of those venerable and
most eminent counsellors to whom the Holy See commits the regulation of
Ecclesiastical affairs in Missionary countries, of the overruling of every variety
of interests and designs, to the rendering of this measure almost necessary,
if the earnest prayers of our holy Pontiff and his most sacred oblation of the
Divine Sacrifice, added to his own deep and earnest reflection, can form to
the Catholic heart an earnest of heavenly direction, an assurance that the
Spirit of truth, who guides the Church, has here inspired its Supreme head,
we cannot desire stronger or more consoling evidence that this most
important measure is from God, has His. sanction and blessing and will
consequently prosper. , . .. ,
" Then truly is this day to us a day of joy and exaltation of spint, the
crowning day of long hopes, and the opening day of bright prospects. How
must the saints of our country, whether Roman or British, Saxon or
Norman, look down from their seats of bliss with beaming glance upon this
new evidence of the Faith and Church which led them to glory, sympathising
with those who have faithfully adhered to them through centuries of ill-repute,
for the truth's sake, and now reap the fruit of their patience and long
suffering. And all those blessed martyrs of these later ages, who have fought
the battles of the Faith undersuch discouragement, who mourned, more than
over their own fetters or their own pain, over the desolate ways of their own
Sionandthe departure of England's religious «lory; oh! how must they
bless God, who hath again visited His people, how take part in our joy. as
they see the lamp of the temple again enkindled and rebrightening, as thev
behold the silver links of that chain, which has connected their country with
the See of Peter in its Vicarial Government, changed into burnished gold ;
not stronger nor more closely knit, but more beautifully wrought and more
brightly arrayed. , . , . , , ,
" And in nothing will it be fairer or brighter than m this, that the glow
of more fervent love will be upon it. Whatever our sincere attachment and
unflinching devotion to the Holy See till now, there is a new ingredient cast
into these feelings ; a warmer gratitude, a tenderer affection, a profounder
admiration, a boundless and endless sense of obligation, for so new, so great,
8o sublime a gift, will be added to past sentiments of loyalty and fidelity
to the supreme See of Peter. Our venerable Pontiff has shown himself a
true Shepherd, a true Father; and we cannot but express our gratitude to
Lim in our most fervent langunge, in the language of prayer. For when we
raise our voices, as is meet, mloud and fervent thanksgiving to the Almighty
for the precious gifts bestowed upon our portion of Christ's vineyard, we
will also implore every choice blessing on Him who hss been so signally the
the divine instrument in procuring it. We will pray that His rule over the
Church!may be prolonged to many years, for its welfare ; that health and
strength may be preserved to Him for the discharge of His arduous duties ;
that light and grace may be granted to Him proportioned to the sublimity
of His office ; and that consolations, temporal and spiritual, may be poured
out upon him abundantly, in compensation for past sorrows and past
ingratitude. And of these consolations may one of the most sweet to His
paternal heart be the propagation of Holy Religion in our country, the
advancement of His spiritual children there in true piety and devotion, and
our ever increasing affection and attachment to the See of St. Peter.
" In order, therefore, that our thanksgiving may be made with all becoming
solemnity, we hereby enjoin as follows : , . , , ^
" 1. This our Pastoral Letter shall be publicly read m all the Churches and
Chapels of the Archdiocese of Westminster and the Diocese of Southwark,
on the Sunday after its being received. , ^, ,
" 2. On the following Sunday there shall be m every such Church or
Chapel, a Solemn Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, at which shall be
VOL. XII. T
Digitized by
Google
254 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
tunff the Te Deum, with the usual veraides and prayers, with the prayer also
Fidelium Deus Pastor et Rectnr, for the Pope.
" 3. The Collect Pro Gratiarum Actione, or Thanks^^iving, and that for
the Pope shall he recited in the Mass of that day and for two days following.
** 4. Where Benediction is never f^iven, the Te Deum, with its pravers,
shall he recited or sung after Mass, and the Collects abotre named shall be
added as enjoined.
''And at the same time earnestly entreating for ourselves also, a place in
your fervent prayers. We lovingly implore for you and bestow on you the
Blessing of Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
"Given out of the Flaminian Gate of Rome, this seventh day of October,
in the year of our Lord mdcccl.
(Signed) ^'NICHOLAS, Cardinal Akchbishop ov Westminster.
•< By command of His Eminence,
Francis Sbarle, Secretary"
We take the following ftrom the *' Univers" of yesterday : —
" All the English Catholics residing at Rome have been desirous of testi-
fying their gratitude to the Holy Father for the great act by which the
Supreme Pontiff has re-established in England the Episcopal Hierarchy, and
which alone would be sufficient to immortalize a Pontificate. On Sunday,
the 6th instant, Cardinal Wiseman himself pre-sented to his Holiness
these generous Christians, amongst whom are a great number of con-
verts. All the memberH of the English College, conducted by their
respected rector, Dr. Grant, united in the deputation, which was re*
oeived by the Supreme Pontiff not merely with kindness, but with real joy.
Having expressed his satisfaction at having been able to accomplish this
important project, he thus continued in the presence of Cardinal Wiseman :
** ' 1 had not intended sending the new Cardinal back into England ; I
had thought of retaining him near my own person and of profiting by his
counsels. But I perceived that the proper moment was come for executing
the great enterprise for which you have come to return me thanks. I do
not think there will be anything to apprehend in consequence. I spoke of
it at the time to Lord Minto, and I understood that the English Government
would not oppose the execution of my design. I send back therefore into
England the eminent Cardinal, and I invite you all to pray unceasingly, th^'t
the Lord will remove all difficulties, and that He will 'lead into the new
Church a million— three millions of your fellow-countrymen, still separated
from us, to the end that He may cause them all to enter, even to the last man.'
" This is the purport of the words of the Supreme Pontiff, as our corres-
pondent has been able to gather them from the lips of one of the happy
witnesses of that scene, llie Cardinal replied that there was nothing to be
feared on the part of the English Government, and that he hoped that Pro-
vidence would grant success to a project upon which depends the religiou9
destinies of England. The deputation retired, carrying away with them the
most affectionate and paternal blessing of the vicar of Jesus Christ."
From the '•Times" op 14th October. — "We are not accustomed to
evince either an immoderate sensitiveness or an entire indifference to the
peculiar relations which subsist between the Court of Rome and the Roman
Catholic portion of our fellow-countrymen, especially in this island. But
though we cannot enter upon the theological elements of this secular con-
troversy, and we do not share the apprehensions which the defection of the
feeble or the enthusiasm of the devout has sometimes inspired amongst us,
yet we can never forget the part which Papal power has at different times
plaved, or endeavoured to play, in presumptuous hostility to the independence
and the liberties of this realm, and it may be well not to allow, a recent and
somewhat ^ovel example of that same spirit to pass idtogether unnotictrd,
either from acquiescence or from contempt. Our readers are aware that
Digitized by
Google
liCKitHlT INTELUOENCE. 255
in a solemn Consistory held at Rome on the 30th of Septeroher, the
cardinal's hat was conferred on no less than fourteen new members of the
Sacred College, under circumstances of peculiar interest. Amon^ the
causes of weakness and corruption by which the Church and the court of
Rome have most suffered for centuries, and by which they have been reduced
to their present helpless and dependent condilion, one of the most fatal has
been the purely Italian character of the governing body. The Church
\irhich claims more than any other an universal authority and dominion
has sunk altogether under the control of the degraded clergy of Italy
and the Papal families of Rome. Of fifty-nine cardinals who were in
existence last year, fifty-two were Italians, seven only belonged to
other countries. The nomination which has just taken place at Rome
indicates a complete change in the policy of Pius IX. in this respect,
for of the fourteen new cardinals two only are Italian, three are
French, two Spanish, one Portuguese, three Austrian, two Prussian, and
one £n(2[lish. There can be no doubc that these prelates, who all belong
to the highest rank of the ecclesiastical order in their respective countries,
are men of incomparably better character and attainments than the wretched
creatures who have for centuries disgraced in Rome the Roman purple ; and
if the interests, not only of the Romish Church, but of the Papal States, are
still to be ruled by a body of pure churchmen, Pius IX. takes an enlarged
and judicious view of his position in this attempt to convert the College of
Cardinals from an Italian Synod into a Catholic Senate Italy has ceased
to be the support of the Papacy, and Rome herself would perhaps prefer
anarchy itself to the indefinite prolongation of misg^n^ernment by her
spiritual rulers. But since tlie Pope has had recourse to the arms of the
Catholic powers to restore him to the Vatican and to protect his govern-
ment, it is not inconsistent with the constitution of his Church, or with his
own position, that he should connect himself by closer ties, and without
national distinctions, with the chief prelates of various nations.
" In this sense, we are not surprised that Dr. Wisemar, who has long
been distm^cuished as one of the most learned and able members of the
Roman Catholic priesthood in this country, should have been raised to the
purple. We may regret that a deplorable perversion of religious opinions
should have the efiect of alienating a respectable Englishman from the Church
of his country, and clothing him with the paltry honours of an Italian
court. But England acknowledges no divided allegiance ; she recognizes
no foreign honours, even in the civil or military career, without the express
permission of her own Sovereign ; and it is no concern of ours whether Dr.
Wiseman chooses in Rome to be ranked wi>h the Monsignori of that capital.
He is simply at Rome in the position of an English subject, who has thought
fit to enter the service of a foreign power, and to accept its spurious
dignities.
" But this nomination has been accompanied by one other circumstance^
which has a very different and a very peculiar character. We are informed
by the official gazette of Rome, that His Holiness the Pope, having recently
been pleased to erect the city of Westminster into an Archbishopric, and
to appoint Dr. Wiseman to that see, it Was on this newfangled Archbishop
df Westminster, i^o appointed, that the rank of cardinal has been conferred.
We tetWy do not wish to attach undue importance to what we shall be told
is a mere question of words. It may be that the elevation of Ur, Wiseman
to the ima^^inary Archbishopric of Westminster signifies no more than if
the Pope had been pleased to confer on the editor of the 'Tablet * the lank
and title of Duke df Smithfield. But if this appointment be not intended
as a clumsy joke, we confess that we can only regard it as one of the
girossest acts of folly and impertinence which the court of Rome baa
t2
Digitized by
Google
256 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCB.
ventured to commit since the crown and the people of England threw off
its yoke. The selection of the city of Westminster, the very seat of the
court and the Parliament of England, and the appropriation, by a foreif^n
priest or potentate, of the time-honoured name which is most identified
with the f^lories of our history, and even with the tombs of our statesmen,
our soldiers, and our kin^s, is a most ostentatious interference with those
rij2[hts and associations to which we, as a nation, are most unanimously and
devotedly attached. We suppose that, even among our Roman Catholic
fellow-countrymen, there are few who hold such extreme ultra-montane
doctrines as to wish to see the Pope of Rome exercising powers in the
distribution of ecclesiastical dignities, which he rarely ventured to claim in
the most benighted ages ; and religious bigotry itself can hardly make them
forget that this is not a question of theological opinion, but of national
allegiance.
"The absurdity of the selection of this title for this illegitimate prelate is
equal to its arrogance. Everybody knows that Westminster never was in early
Christian times a bishop's see, but a monastery. On the suppression of the
religious houses, Henry VIII. did, indeed, create a Bishop of Westminster,
for the first and only time ; and Pius IX seems to have borrowed his pre-
cedent from the schismatic King of England ; but on the accession of Edward
VI. the see of Westminster was incorporated with that of London, which
gave rise to the expression of * robbing Peter to pay Paul' So that there is
neither tradition nor usage to justify any such appellation. It is a mere
figment of the Papal brain. As applied to the city and liberty of WesU
minster, or to the Abbey of St. Peter's, Westminster, it is a terra devoid of
meaning; but its meaning lies, we fear, in an unambigious intention to
insult the Church and the Crown of England, and in an absurdly mistaken
notion current abroad that the conversion of a few weak minds to the doc-
trines of Rome has shaken the adherence of the people of England to the
great principles of the Reformation. That inference is, we know, egregiously
presumptuous and false ; for if there be one class of Englishmen more than
another who ought to be sensitive to this indication of the undying pretensions
of Romish authority, it is precisely that class which most highly venerates
the traditions, the authority, and the liberties of the English Church. It
has been suggested that the Pope determined to take this ridiculous and
offensive step for the purpose of retaliating on the English Government the
political hostility which has been imputed to it, and especially of countervail-
ing the intrigues of a consular agent at Rome, whom Lord Palmerston declines
to remove. But we can hardly imaKine that the Papal Court was actuated
by so pitiful a motive for one of the most daring assumptions of power it has
nut forward in this country for three centuries. The Pope and bis advisers
have mistaken our complete tolerance for indiff'erence to their designs; they
have mistaken the renovated zeal of the church in this country for a return
towards Romish bondage ; but we are not sorry that their indiscretion has
led them to show the power which Rome would exercise if she could, by an
act which the laws of this country will never recognize, and which the public
opinion of this country will deride and disavow, whenever his Grace the
titular Archbishop of Westminster thinks fit to enter his diocese."
From "Times" of October 22.—" We were not misinformed with refer-
ence to the proposed restoration of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in Eng-
land, for the organs of that Church on the continent now actually contain
the Pope's Bull for the creation of a dozen bishopricks and the systematic
division of this island into new dioceses by the will and pleasure of Pius IX.
Until we saw the whole scheme in black and white before us, we confess
that we were still incredulous of the extent of its impudence and absurdity ;
and we believe that it may be some time before the people of England realize
to their own minds the full purport of these surprising pretensions. An
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 257
ArchbiRhop of Westminster, a Bishop of Soutliwark for the two divisions
of the metropolis and the adjacent counties, a Bishop of Beverley to hold
spiritual sway in Yorkshire; Lancashire to be shared between the sees of
Liverpool and Salford; Wales, between Salop and Merthyr-Tydvil cum
Newport ; the bishoprics of Clifton and Plymouth in the west of England,
each comprising three counties ; in the midland district the two episcopal
sees of NottioKham and Birmingham, flanked by that of Northampton in
the east — and all this laid down with the authority and minuteness of an act
of Parliament by a Papal Bull — certainly constitutes one of the stiangest
pieces of mummery we ever remember to have witnessed ; and if it were not
accompanied with an evident determination to convert these pompous names
and titles into facts, we should regard such a document emanating from a
foreign Government as positively unworthy of credit. As it is, we can only
receive it as an audacious and conspicuous displav of pretensions to resume
the absolute spiritual dominion of this island which Rome has never
abandoned, but which, by the blessing of Providence and the will of the
English people, she shall never accomplish. On no occasion since the
Reformation has the Court of Rome so peremptorily denied the validity of
Anglican orders, by partitioning the whole island into new sees, as if the old
Episcopal dioceses of England, many of which are coseval with the intro-
duction of Christianity itself, were absolutely vacant or extinct; at the same
time the letter of the law which prohibits Roman Catholic prelates from
assuming the titles of Anglican Bishops has been obeyed whilst its spirit is
set at defiance. To the existence of the dignitaries of the Romish Church
having a certain authority over their own flocks in this country no objection
was or could be raised ; but the creation of a hierarchy, assuming the
names of cities and provinces, and distributing counties amongst their sees,
is a step which the Pope could not have taken in any other civilized country
in Europe, and it is hardly less preposterous than the Bull of one of his
predecessors in the 15th century, which assigned to the crown of Portugal
the undiscovered limits of the new world.
''We have seen it contended that this stretch of Papal authority is not
more startling than the creation of a Protestant Bishop at Jerusalem and the
creation of the Anglican sees of Malta and Gibraltar by the authority of this
country. But the analogy is altogether incorrect. The Protestant Bishopric
of Jerusalem was founded, if we are not greatly mistaken, with the full
knowledge and assent of the Porte, the Sovereign of that country ; and the
object of that institution was simply to place a prelate of our church in a
place which has a character of pecuhar sanctity to the whole Christian world,
not certainly to exercise any kind of spuritual authority over the subjects of
the Porte in Syria. So again ^the bishoprics of Gibraltar and of Malta are
lawfully established by British authority in those British dependencies ; and
though the prelates who £11 those sees may occasionally exercise their
functions elsewhere, their residence is fixed on British territory, and their
duties are mainly if not exclusively directed to the spiritual wants of
British subjects. Widely different from these appointments, made or
accepted by the sovereign authority of the countries in which they are placed,
is a direct usurpation of a supreme spiritual power by a foreign priest over
the length and breadth of this land, treating with equal arrogance the exist-
ence of our national church and the policy of our laws, and issuing such a
mandate as no Government on the continent of Europe, whether Catholic or
Protestant, would submit to. For if the Romish Church herself had not
sunk deeper than ever in her subjection to the intrigues and ambition of the
Vatican, the Roman Catholics of England would themselves spurn such an
interference of foreign authority, which men of the mind of Bossuel; would
never have endured.
Digitized by
Google
258 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
'* It seems, however, that on the puhlication of this Ball the English
Roman Catholics now in Rome obtained an audience with the Pope, and
were presented by Cardinal Wiseman to thank His Holiness fur these
measures. Pius IX. spoke on this occasion, as we are informed by a French
Catholic priest, to the following eflfect : —
*"I had not intended to send the new Cardinal (Wiseman) back to
England, but to keep him near the Papal Court, and to employ his talents
here. But I am persuaded,' added the Pope, ' that the time is come to set
about the great enterprise for which you have just thanked me. I think he
has nothing to fear in England. I spoke of it some time ago to Lord Minto,
and I understood that the English Government would offer no oppositinn to the
execution of my plan, I therefore send this most eminent Cardinal back to
England, and I entreat you all to pray without ceasing that all difficulties
may be removed, and that a million — nay three millions — of your country-
men still separated from us, may enter into this new Church, even to the last
of them.'"
We translate this extraordinary declaration literally from the 'Ami de la
Religion ;' and it is certainly calculated to complete the astonishment with
which this whole transaction fills us. The plan, it seems, was communicated
by the Pope himself to Lord Minto, on his mission, which took place three
years ago ; yet the English Government has seen no reason to offer any
adverse expression of opinion to it; so that while one of the effects of Lord
Minto^s unfortunate journey was to promote the revolution in Italy, the
other is to promote the re •establishment of the Romish hierarchy in England.
For a Scotch nobleman, who is neither a Jacobin nor a bigot, it must be
confessed that these results are strange instances of diplomatic ability ; and
Lord Minto will be consigned to the judgment of posterity between Cicero-
vacchio and the Archbishop of Westminster.
" We venture to think that the case was one which would have justified,
and which probably did cause, strong remonstrance, on the part of the
responsible servants of the Crown, against a measure which must at the very
least be regarded as offensive to the people of this country and insulting to
(he institutions we most cherish ; and if we are not mistaken, this project had
actually been suspended until the Pope was worked upon by his resentment
against the proceedings of English agents in Italy to give us this prouf of
his ill-will. He has now thought the time was come to launch the ' great
enterprise,' and he has taken care to accompany it with the remarks which
he thought most injurious and unpleasant to the English government. To
this sort of defiance, arising chiefly out of personal irritation and political
causes, the government will, we hope, find means to make a suitable reply.
'* As for the measure itself, it has doubtless been framed in the Councils of
the Vatican with an astute consideration of the existing laws of England,
and it .will probably be found that, enormous as this assumption of power by
a foreign government undoubtedly is, it is not expressly at variance with any
statute now in force, though thi^ may form the subject of further investiga-
tion. But in these days the msm ipoporunce of such an act is in effect on
public opinion, which raay«either reduce it to its proper proportions of arrant
absurdity or exalt it into more importance than it deserves. We hope that
its effect will be to bring home. more. thoroughly to men's minds the degrada-
tion of that allegiance to Rome which submits the most sacred interests of
life and society to a power which we would not entrust in temporal concerns
with the authority of a parish vpstry ; and that this step of the inveterate
assailant of the Church of IBngland may remind the whole Protestant body
in this nation that our own divisions have given the chief signal uf encouiage-
mrnt to the aggresiona of Rome."
From thk •* Examiner." — " Pio Nono i6 no longer the quiet laisser afler
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 259
FoDtiflf, such as existed in the first half of the century. He quite apes the
pretensions of a Hildebrand. He and his clergy have Awakened in Piedmont
our own old quarrel of A*Becket and Henry H.; and, instead of urginf(
their Catholic fellow-Chrisdans to advance by such ways as a free consti-
tutional Government opens to other religious denominations, they send a
legate to Ireland to denounce and root out education, and despatch a
cardinal archbishop to Westminster, to catch fuols with his title, and enslave
kindred bigots by his assumption of authority and state. But in Piedmont
Azeglio is firm, and a statesmanlike spirit of resistance is steadily showing
itself; nor in Westminster have we any call to take alarm at the advent of
Cardinal Wiseman.
** The wicked folly of the Popedom, in short, is fast bringing all moderate
men who joined in the reaction to a stand-still. The liberal and benevolent
Pope has become a cruel and a bigoted one. The reactionary governments
have everywhere called the clergy to their aid, and resuscitated the worst
spirit of the old Church. In our own land education is denounced which
does not square itself to Catholic bigotry. A university is to be founded
for the science of the nineteenth century on the principle of the religion of
the thirteenth. Romanists who have received secular education by the
side of Protestants, and who have owed their religious education to Protes-
tant liberality, now denounce all friendly intercourse of creeds as a false
and pernicious toleration. Is it surprising that the feelings of liberal men
should, in consequence, have undergone an analogous change ? The old
hatred of the Church, that had been appeased, has re-awakened. Respect
for a priesthood, as a body apart from politics, has given way to the old
abhorrence for them. And in the future revolutions of Europe the priest-
hood mu^t bear their share, and more even than their old share, of
obuoxiousness and bitter opposition.
'* We will not affect surprise that in Rome itself, and in all that emanates
directly from Rome, the priesthood should, thus have striven for their old
supremacy. There, there is indeed no middle terra, no constitutional
position for the hierarchy, no possible conciliation or compact between the
civil and the ecclesiastical power. The Pope, to remain Pope, must dominate
at home and abroad. The entire institution is not of this age, but of past
ones ; and unless it can resuscitate the feelings and the forips of government
of past ages, itself is gone. We are not startled, therefore, at seeing Pio
Nono leap from the shrewd liberalism of the Romagnese to the stupid
bigotry of the Neapolitan priest. We are not amazed to see him resuscitate
a Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, or denounce the Godless Colleges,
or support Piedmontese prelates in their pretensions to be above all law*
Indeed, how he can refrain from speedily replevying Peter's- pence, and in-
sisting upon all his rights, we know not. For certes, the great authority he
claims must be supported by money, and M. Rothschild cannot go on
raising loans in the air. He has already done a good deal in that way.
But the larger the bubble is blown, and the more gaudily it shines and
rises, the sooner will come its explosion ; and marvellous is it that even the
intemperate Catholic prelacy of Ireland should commit themselves to such
egregious imposture. In a country like ours, in France, in Germany
wherever a constitutional system would offSer this class of men the station
and influence which may not unfairly be their due, and where their
attempts to bring back the effete ideas of monkery can lead to the most
ludicrous discomfiture, one is filled with wonder and pity at all that is noMT
going forward."
From the "Guardian."*— "The clever and portly Vicar Apostolic of
the London District is no longer designated as Vicar Apostolic, but -aa
/ Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster.' The natural inference is, that ^h»
Digitized by
Google
260 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
advisen of the Papacy think it a ^ood time to make a push for a new locns
standi in this countiy. Intrusive bishoprics are to be planted here ; the
Church of England is to be jostled and forestalled on her own ground. In
the eyes of English Churchmen all this tends, of course, only to load the
Church of Rome more heavily with the guilt of the schism that divides
Christendom. From an opposite point of view it is doubtless regarded as
so much ground gained ; uninterested observers may smile to see how dis-
proportionate to the impossible task which the Church of Rome proposes
to itself in the reconquest of the English mind is the poor expedient of
clothing its missionaries with fancy titles and imaginary sees/'
From the "English Churchman.'*— *' Upon what plea the English
Government will allow the Bishop of Rome to nominate and appoint an
Archbishop of Westminster we cannot conjecture. Surely some body of
the English Churchmen — the Bishops, the Universities, or the Church
Unions — ^should promptly remonstrate, and protest against the allowing
such schismatical intrusions and usurpations."
From the '* Globe,"— " The revived assumptions of Rome have been
encouraged by the recent approximations towards Rome in England. It is
not surprising that a voice from the Vatican should be heard at length, saying :
' That's my thunder I ' — when every Puseyite priest has been advancing
pretensions deemed to have been dropped since the middle ages. From the
moment Protestant principles are renounced in England, the sole consistent
course is re-conversion to Rome. There is no setting up a Pope at Liambeth ;
and if external ecclesiastical unity were, m these times, a possibility, it must
be so under the one traditionally infallible head.
" We cannot, therefore, in point of principle, exactly blame his Holiness,
or his advisers, for striking while they think the iron hot. Only they may
have mistaken their anvil. We doubt whether, even in Ireland, the Roman
Catholic priesthood and laity will submit tamely to the Papal proscription
of secular University education.
''Roman Catholic Propa^andism in this country, in the aspect it now
wears, must reckon on encountering a different feeling from that with which
liberal and tolerant thinkers regarded Roman Catholic struggles for equal
rights. It is somewhat singular that, in these days of enlarged liberality
towards all creedsl and communions, the revived ecclesiastical spirit has
re-appeared in all the traits of less enlightened times."
From the "Times " of Tuesday.— "To the Editor qf the TrW*.— Sir,— I
see that your Roman correspondent of September 30 says, that ' Cardinal
Wiseman will receive the title of St. Pudentia, a grand daughter of Caracta-
cus,' and a British saint; but I am inclined to think that this must be a slip
of the pen; and I am sure that, in England at least, if he ever sets foot there,
the Cardinal will enjoy the title of St. Impudentia, which, after recent
occurrences, no one wiU deny to be a Romish saint. — I am. Sir, your
obedient Servant,
"October 19. Vindbx."
From the "Morning Post." — "To create a Cardinal Archbibhop of
Westminster, and to nominate district Bishops over the land, with titles of
honours and conditions of precedence, is itself a direct invasion of royal
authority, and an attack upon the constitution of 1688. This will certainly
not be tolerated by the people of England."
From the " Morning Herald." — "The insult which is thus offered to
the English nation is aimed against both the Church and the State, 'ilie im-
mediate purport of the new appointment is, of course, to denounce the Bishop
of London and the Primate as schismatic intruders. Two bishops ' keep not
their motion in one course,' and a legitimate territorial title excludes all local
co-ordinate authority. It is true that the Protestant Establishment was
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 261
always schisroatical and heretical in the eyes of Rome ; but there are many
unpleasant relations in society which it is not necessary publicly to express.
It were more polite, as well as more consonant with the actual state of thinfjrg,
to manage the Ecclesiastical affairs of the English Roman Catholics with-
out an ostentatious collision with the Church which is actually in possession.
The Sovereii^ of the Ecclesiastical States has often been beholding to the
friendly interference of England; and it might have been well to avoid
insulting the most Conservative party in the State, at least till they could be
effectually injured.
*< It is an innovation in the practice, if not in the pretensions, of Rome,
to divide a territory into provinces and dioceses without the consent of the
government of the country. Even in Ireland, where the succession of
diocesan bishops was not interrupted by the Reformation, the Roman
Catholic body acouiesced in the suppression of territorial titles, under the
provisions of the Relief Bill. Ancient custom, combined with eccleslistical
ambition, has, indeed, in many cases, prevailed over the law ; but there is
a wide difference between a titular pretender who has lost his dominions,
and a new potentate appointed by a foreign power, without the consent of
his so-called subjects. Perhaps this insolent and foolish encroachment may
satisfy Lord Grey that he was in error in assigning a secular rank to the
Roman Catholic bishops in the colonies. When prelates preside over real
congregations, and are themselves personally esteemed, there is no danger
that their rank in society will be lower than that to which they are fairly
entitled ; but the principle of attributing official precedence to the nominees
of a foreign authority is in no way countenanced by any rank conferred,
whether wisely or unwisely, by the State. Even those who are most pre-
judiced against the secular pre-eminence accorded to the dignitaries of the
Estabhbhment, cannot deny that, however objectionahle they may deem it,
it is founded on actual law. Foreign ranks and titles have a claim to
courteous recognition, so long as they are professedly foreitrn ; but it would
be imprudent to acknowledge the pretensions of a Russian Prince of London,
or of a Turkish Pacha of Ireland. Dr. Wiseman is, we believe, a respectable
gentleman, but we know of no Archbishop of Westminster, llie whole
question is, perhaps, insignificant. In protesting summarily against an
impertinent pretension of a not very formidable potentate, we cannot per-
suade ourselves to be seriously irritated by an encroachment that is confined
to words. It is the tendency of this proceeding to revive sectarian animosity
which alone materially concerns us. We have already appealed to the
moderate and prudent members of the Roman Catholic body to use their
influence to check the political priesthood in the teasing activity of their
movennents. Let them preach, and argue, and convert at their pleasure —
we shall neither interfere with them nor blame them ; but it can never serve
the interests of their cause to insult the vast majority whom they cannot
influence Their wisest leaders know how thoroughly England is opposed
to the spirit of their Church. They cannot hope to turn the current of
popular feeling ; but they may, we fear, easily revive the jealous antipathy
from which tbey have, in former times, suffered so much injustice. At
present they are alienating and alarming all the friends of toleration, who
could look with complacency on the uneasy exertions of a sect, but for the
reasonable fear that these may soon arouse the dormant passions of a more
powerful enemy. If the Pope selected his counsellors from Exeter Hall, he
would certainly hav* been a'dvised by a sagacious enemy to consecrate an
Archbishop of Westminster.'' — [The "Herald" here proceeds to quote a
long extract from the '* Catholic Magazine," deducing the temporal power
of the Pope over English subjects from his treatment of Bishop Baines. —
£d. Mao. and Rbo.]
Digitized by
Google
202 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
From the " Standard." — " It is anlawful for the Pope to depose Queen
Victoria, or to ^ive her kingdom to any faithful eon of the Church. It is
unlawful to burn heretics in Smithfield, and it is just as unlanrful for the
Pope to nominate to an Arch))i8hopric of Canterbury or a Bishopric of
London. We bold that tu accept a nomination to any territorial Bishopric
in England, whether with a title already occupied or not, is an offence against
the statute of Premunire : but even they wi)o do not agree with us on this
point must acknowledge that by the Securities Act of 1829, to accept a Papal
nomination to any Bishopric already occupied is a misdemeanor punishable
by fine and imprisonment. Upon this point there can be no doubt. Let
Dr. Wiseman (who, by the way, is not, as in generally supposed, an English-
man, but a Spaniard) assume the Archbishopric of Canterbury instead of
Westminster, and try the experiment/'
From a letter to the " Morning Post," on the Hierarchy, by the Rev. F.
Oakley. — ^* But changes of time and circumstances require corresponding
changes in government. However little many may like to confront the fact,
certain, at least, it is, that England is now no longer in the same state
relatively to Rome as she was. Rome has within her a vast population,
bound, indeed, by the duties of English citizens and subjects; but, in
spirituals, acknowledging no bead but the chief Bishop of Christendom.
In London alone there are as many Catholics as in Rome itself, llie most
accurate data wich can be gained do not admit of a lower estimate than
170,000. In Liverpool, I think 1 am correct in saying one-third of the
population is Catholic; in Preston, nearly, or quite half of it; while in Man-
chester, Birmingham, Bristol, and all our large towns, there is a vast settle-
ment of Irish Catholics, and it might be added, a constant accession, from
our native population. For here is another consideration. Converts are
regularly accruing to us, and in an increasirg ratio. Nothing is known,
except to ourselves, of the vast majority who j()in us. The papers announce
a few of the most conspicuous instances; but there are multitudes behind,
known but to God and the clergy. I speak from experience. I have by no
means one of the most important chapels in London under my care, and
those who know me best can testify that I have too much to do among my
own people to aim at conversions. In^this church, few .controversial sermons
are ever preached, and our ministrations are primarily and chieEy confined
to Catholics ; yet not a week passes in which we have not applications for
admission into the Church. I do not think people generally are at. all aware
of the numbers who come over to us, simply from the fact of a Catholic
Church being situated in their locality.
" All this being so, ( cannot see how there is anything strange in the Holy
See considering that England ought no longer to be treated as a Heathen
country, but that the actual state of its Catholic population is such as to
justif^jT the introduction, at least in a modified form, of a more settled
organization.
'* But the Holy See has shown itself most anxious to avoid collision, not
merely with law, but with national feeling and cherished association, by
keeping clear of all the sees which have passed into Protestant hands.
Surely, if Rome had exercised to the full what she considers her strict right,
as the head of a spiritual empire, she could not have been more assaUed,
than she has been actually assailed, though she has waived it in
favour of our Protestant Government and constitution. It is in deed,
her ill fate to be blamed anyway. In a public jaurnal it has actually
been made a reproach against her that she has actually called into
existence a new see. Who can doubt that she has sacrificed her own
preferences to the desire of conciliation? That except out of forbear-
ance and compliance, she had rather have reclaimed thei ancient Arch-
bishopric of London or Canterbury, the see of her first missionary to Saxon
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 263
England, than have incurred this charge of novelty by seeking to found new
associations instead of availint; herself of old ones ?"
From the " Church and Statb Gazbttb."— "Free as is our Church,
and lax as is her discipline both towards clergy and )aity« a boundary roust be
placed somewhere, if only at hi^h treason. Suppose the Pope to establish
a hierarchy here» would the Queen permit it ? Suppose he come to reside
here, would it be allowed ? The Synod of Thurles has snubbed the British
Government — will the insult be borne? They have condemned national
education — will it be endured? Truly England may be the land of the
free; but to be easy under these circumstances seems impossible."
In another article of the same number, the ''Church and State Gazette" con-
soles itself with the following ar^^ument : — " In England the so called 'Car-
dinal-Archbishop' will have no legal tiatw — no more than if he were called
'King of Little Britain.' He may, out of scorn or indifference to his own
sovereign, accept titles from another, to whom he pays no divided allegiance ;
but he will be simply, as far as that goes, in the condition of those martial
gentlemen who went to Spain with several aliaseg, and fancied to obliterate
ihem all when they returned under the sounding title of 'Captain.'"
The following letter appears in the *' Times " of October 18ih. — " To the
Editnr of the ' Time*.'— The Temple, October I6th.— -Sir.— I am confident
that I shall not in vain appeal to your sense of justice and fairness for per-
mission to sa}r a few words, as a friend of Cardinal Wiseman, res^tecting
your observations on his elevation to the spiritual office and rank of Arch-
bishop of Westminster.
" I submit that the act in question does not, if impartially con^ideredg
imply, as I am certain it was not intended to convey, any slight or disrespect
to the Crown or the British nation, nor infringe the Royal prerogative.
The case stands simply thus: — ^The Roman Catholics in England have for
some time felt that their Church ought to be put on a regular and perfect
foundation, instead of bt^ing, as heretofore, in a mere missionary form,
under the government of Vicars Apostolic. The desired change could only
be made, in accordance with the discipline of the Church, in one way« i. e,^
by the appointment of diocesan bishops.
"The statute 10 George IV., c. 7» s. 24, forbids the Catholic clergy from
assuming the style of any bishopric or archbishopric of the Established
Church. It is necessary, therefore, that the proposed diocesans should becreated
under new titles. Hence the erection of the Archbishopric of Westminster,
which is a purely spiritual office, and no more illegal than that of the Vicars
Apostolic ; it neither affects, nor professes to affect, any temporal legal
rights, but merely regards the spiritual concerns of those of Her Majesty's
subjects who are, or hereafter may be, in communion with the Church of
Rome.
" The erection of that office does not, moreover, involve any exercise of
temporal jurisdiction within this realm by the Pope, for the creation of a
bishopric is not, in se, an act of sovereignty or of temporal jurisdiction.
'* In support of this position I need only refer to the I act, that the Crown
of England a few years ago erected a bishopric in parts beyond sea where
Her Majesty's writ runneth not— to wit, at Jerusalem. The warrant, under
the royal sign manual and signet, for the consecration of Dr. Alexander, the
first bishop of the newly created see of Jerusalem, recites (among other
things) that, by stat. 5 Vic, c. 6, it is enacted, that the bishop or bishops
to be consecrated under its provisions, ' mav exercise, within such limits as
may be from time to time assigned in any foreign country by the Qneen»
spiritual jurisdiction over the ministers of British congregations of the
United Church of England and Ireland, and over such other Protestant
congregations as may be desirous of placing themselves under his or their
Digitized by
Google
264 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
authority/ And the warrant concludes as follows : — 'And we are f^raciously
pleased to assign Syria, Chaldea, E|?ypt, and Abyssinia, as the limit within
which the said Michael S3lon]on Alexander may exercise spiritual juris-
diction pursuant to the said Act, subject, nevertheless, to such alterations
in their limits as we, from time to time, may assign.'
" Here we find the British Crown creating a Protestant Bishopric of
Jerusalem, and assigning to it a diocese including Syria, Chaldea, Egypt,
and Abyssinia! And I need scarcely remind you that Italy, including
Rome itself, is within the diocese of the Protestant Bishopric of Gibraltar,
and that the Riglit Rev. Dr. Tomlinson, Anglican Bishop of Gibraltar, has
actually performed episcopal functions in Rome. Yet the Roman Church
and Government made no compalint.
'* I trust that these observations will be received as they are meant, and
that after this explanation Her Majesty's Catholic subjects may welcome
their illustrious prelate on his return home next month, without incurnng
any imputation or suspicion of disloyalty to their beloved Sovereign, or of
any breach of that proper respect which they owe to the opinions and
feelings of the majority of their fellow-countrymen. I remain. Sir, your
obedient servant, "G. B."
From the "Times'* of October 19.'^" It is reported by those who
profess themselves better acquainted than we care to be with the intentions
of the Court of Rome, that the promotion of Cardinal Wiseman to the
titular Archbishopric of Westminster is only one portion of a complete
scheme for the revival of the Romish hierarchy in this country. Twelve
bishops of the Romish Church are said to be designated by the Pope to fill
the sees into which it has pleased His Holiness to divide the Queen's
dominions ; and the Cardinal Archbishop is, ere long, to return to England,
armed with full Papal powers for the government of the affairs of the
Roman Catholic body in his province.
"We have no means of ascertaining the accuracy of this statement, and
we should be glad to learn that no such project has been entertained ; or, if
entertained, that it is not likely that a scheme so calculated to revive amongst
the people of England the strongest feelings of suspicion and aversion
against the Popish authorities of the Roman Church will be executed. But
the specimen Pius IX. has recently given us of his policy and intentions,
and the imprudent exultation with which we are told that a lost nation has
been recovered and reclaimed by this very act to the fold of St. Peter, may
justify an apprehension that a more ostentatious and ambitious display of
the pretentions of the Papal Court is actually at hand.
" Assuming, therefore, that these facts have not been over-coloured, we
may ask what they mean. For if they have any signification at all beyond
an idle distribution of spurious titles, they mean that the Pope conceives
that he can, in the 19th century, resume and exercise the direct spiritual
government within this realm of a considerable portion of the Queen's sub-
jects, and that by means of a regularly-established hierarchy, accountable
to Rome only for its actions, as long as they are not absolutely at variance
with the mild tenor of our present iaws, he can divide with the Crown the
allegiance of our fellow-countrymen. It is not. as we remarked on a former
occasion, on theological grounds that we repudiate these arrogant claims,
and that (to use the term which the Reformation stamped upon our branch
of the Church of Christ) we protest against them. We respect the sanctity
of religious opinions, we recognise the inviolable rights of conscience under
every form of worship, and we profess the liberal principle of tl.e age we
live m, that no civil disabilities ought to be annexed to religious distinctions.
" But, with the utmost deference for these principles of religious freedom
in the person of every Englishman, we are not the less, but rather the more.
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 265
bound to nphold the polity of this kingdoni, to reject with indication the
attempt of a foreign power to fasten its authority upon our divisions, and
to resist the reconstruction of those threat engines of the R )n]i8h hierarchy
which it is the glory of our forefathers to have expelled and overthrown.
For if these projects are ever fulfilled to the letter^ the Court of Rome will
have recovered a greater power over that portion of the nation which admits
its authority than it enjoyed for centuries before the Refonnation, as far
back as the reign of Richard the Second, when the introduction of un-
authorised Papal bulls incurred the penalties of a praemunire ; and England,
with her Protestant establishment and her oath of supremacy, would con-
cede to the Roman Catholic hierarchy and to the Pope a greater latitude of
authority than they have enjoyed for ages in the most Catholic States of
Europe. That is actually, it must be confessed, the present state of Ireland,
and the Synod of Thurles with a host of evils which afflict and degrade that
country are the clearest indication of its efPects. These effects will probably
only he mitigated when means shall have been found to define by compact
the mutual obligations of the Romish Church and of the State ; and mean-
while we may make allowances — perhaps too great allowances — for the
Church which has maintained so dark a superstition and bred so constant a
disaffection am<>ngst a large portion of the Irish people.
" But here in England we live and move in the heart of this empire ; it is
here that we preserve, in the sanctuary of our laws, the traditional polity of
the nation ; and whatever humours may affect other parts of our frame, it
is by the consent of the free people who cluster round these abodes and
crowd this inland that we are what we are.
" Is it, then, here in Westminster, among ourselves and by the English
throne, that an Italian Priest is to parcel out the spiritual dominion of this
country — to employ the renegades of our national Church to restore a.
foreign usurpation over the consciences of men, and to sow division in our
political society by an undisguised and systematic hostility to the institutions
most nearly identified with our national freedom and our national faith ?
Such an intention must either be ludicrous or intolerable — either a delusion
of some fanatical brain, or treason to the constitution. We have emanci-
pated our Roman Catholic countrymen from the last vestiges of civil pro-
scription, and for tolerance sake we have done well ; but of those who most
zealously fought in that cause there was not a man who would have endured
the thought of a direct encroachment on the spiritual independence of
England by that faction from whom these restrictions were to be removed.
" Our Iloman Catholic countrymen have, as a body, probably no active
part in these proceedmgs of the alien authority which they acknowledge.
On the contrary, they are more likely to lose than to gain by such rash
innovations, and the enjoyment of their religious liberties was more respect-
able when it was more silent. But since Rome is itself the seat of these
ridiculous contrivances, we may fairly regard such attempts at spiritual
aggression as a mark of hostile impertinence, to be met with due vigour by
the British Government, not in England, but in Italy.
" In the present state of the Pope's dominions, while the feeble remnant
of his temporal power excites the compassion of the Catholic States and the
contempt of his subjects, the direct opposition of England and a bold reso-
lution to shake the rotten edifice to its foundations might prove more
formidable dangers to the occupants of the Vatican than the presence of a
sham Archbishop to the Protestant citizens of Westminster, in proportion as
the vitality of the Romish Church declines at its centre, it revives at its
extremities ; and by the strange contradictions of its nature a Sovereign who
is too weak to defend himself in his palcce against a mob who insult him
with impunity acquires a sort of parastic existence in countries not subject
Digitized by
Google
^66 MONTHLY INTELLIGBNCE.
to his authority, and distributes dignities and duties which are not his own.
But the Papal See maj presume too much on its weakness as the screen of
its ambition. There is a spirit abroad even in Italy which will not be roused
with impunity; and, however reluctant we may be to add fresh elements of
discord to the present a^^itated condition of Europe, we are not disposed to
submit with perfect tameness or indiiference to the wanton interferance of a
band of fureifi^n priests in the affairs of this country.
Rbply or THB Bishop or London to the Memorial rROM thb
Westminster Clergy. — Yestcday the Bishop of London sent the fol-
lowing reply to the memorial signed by the Archdeac(m and Canons of
Westminster, and a large body of the clergy of that city, presented to his
Lordship on Friday, asking for his conns**! and support:—*' Fulham, Oct.
28, 1850. — Rev. and Dear Brethren, — The sentiments expressed in the
address which you have presented to me are in entire accordance with mine,
and I am persuaded that they will be responded to by the unanimous feeling
of Protestant Bnt<land.
" The recent assumption of authority by the Bishop of Rome in pretend-
ing to parcel out this country into new dioceses, and to appoint archbishops
and bishops to preside over them, without the consent of the Sovereign, is a
schisma^ical act, without precedent, and one which would not be tolerated
by the Grovemment of any Roman Catholic kingdom. I trust that it will
not be quietly submitted to by our own.
" Hitherto from the time of the Reformation the Pope has been contented
with providing for the spiritual superintendence of his adherents in this
couhtry by the appointment of vicars apostolic, bishops who took their titles
as sucti not from any real or pretended sees in England, but from some
ima^rinary dioceses in partibus ir^idelium In this there was no assumption
of spiritual authority over any other of the sul>jects of the English crown
than those of his own communion. But the appointment of bishops to
preside over new dioceses in England, constituted by a Papal brief, is
virtually a denial of the legitimate authority of the British Sovereign and
of the English episcopate ; a denial also uf the validity of our orders^ and
an assertion of spiritual jurisdiction over the whole Christian people of the
realm.
" That it is regarded in this light by the Pope's adherents in this country
is apparent from the lani^uage m which they felicitate themselves upon this
arrogant attempt to stretch his authority beyond its proper limits. A journal
which is generally believed to express the sentiments of a large portion of
them at least (not, I believe, of all) points out in the following words the differ-
ence between the Vicars Apostolic and the pretended diocesan bishops.
Alluding to certain members of our Church leaning towards Rome, it says —
' In this act of Pope Pius IX., they have that open declaration for which
they have been so long professing to look. 'Rome* said they, ' has never yet
formally spoken against us. Uer bishops, indeed, are sent here, not as
having any local authority, but as pastors without fiocks ; Bishops of Tad-
mor in the desert, or of the ruins of Babylon, intruding into temtories which
they cannot formally claim as their own.' This specious argument is once
for all silenced. Rome has more than spoken ; she has spoken and
acted I She has again divided our land into dioceses, and has placed over
each a pastor, to whom all baptized persons, without exception, within that
district, are openly commanded to submit themselves in all ecclesiastical
matters, under pain of damnation, and the Anglican sees, those ghosts of
realities long passed away, are utterly ignored.
"llie advisers of the Pope have skilfully contrived so to shape this
encrt>achment upon tha rights and honour of the Crown and Church of
England that his nominees to imaginaiy dioceses will not actually offend
Digitized by
Google
MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE. 267
ai^aiiMt the letter of the law hyasmiming the titles which he has intended to
confer upon them ; but that it is contrary to the spirit of the law there can
be no doubt. As little doubt can there be that il is intended as an insult to
the Sovereij^n and Church of this country.
" With respect to the conduct proper to be pursued by you on this occa*
fiion, it oufurht, in my opinion, to be temperate and charitable, but firm and
uncompromising.
" You will do well to call the attention of your people to the real purport
of this open assault upon our reformed church, and to take measures for
petitioninf]^ the le^^islature to carry out the principle of the statute which
forbids all persons other than the persons authorized by law to assume or
use the name, style, or title of any archbishop of any province, bishop of
any bishopric, or dean of any deanery in England or Ireland, by extending
the prohibition to any pretended diocese or deaneries in these realms.
" It is possible that such prohibitions might not have the effect of pre-
venting the assumption of titles by the Papal bishops, when dealing with
their own adherents : but it would make the assumption unlawful, and il
would mark the determination of the people of this country not to permit
any foreign prelate to exercise spiritual jurisdiction over them.
" But there are other duties besides those of protesting and petitioning,
the performance of which seems to be specially required of us by the present
emergency. Unwilling as I am to encourage controversial preaching, I
niust say that we are driven to have recourse to it by this attempted usorpa^
tion of authority on the part of the Bishop of Rome, and by the activity
and subtlety of his emissaries in all parts of the kingdom. We are surely
called upon for a more than ordinary measure of watchfulness and diligence
in fulfilling the promise which we gave when we were admitted to the priest*
hood ' to banish and drive away all erroneous and strange doctrines contrary
to God's Word.'
'* Let us be careful, as well in our public ministrations as in our private
monitions and exhortations, to refrain from doint; or saying anything which
may seem to indicate a wish to make the slightest approach to a church
which, far from manifesting a desire to lay aside any of the errors and super-
stitions which compelled us to separate from it, is now reasserting them with
a degree of boldness unknown since the * Reformation, is adding new
credenda to its articles of faith, and is undisguisedly teaching its members
the duty of worshipping the creature with the worship due only to the
Creator.
** After all, I am much inclined to believe that, in having recourse to the
extreme measure which has called forth your address, the court of Rome
has been ill advised as regards the extension of its influence in this country,
and that it has taken a false step. I'hat step will, I am convinced, tend to
strengthen the Protestant feeling of the people at lar^e, snd will cause some
persons to hesitate and draw back who are disposed to make concessions
to Rome, under a mistaken impression that she has abated somewhat of
her ancient pretensions, and that a union of the two churches might
possibly be effected, without the sacrifice of any fundamental principle.
Hardly anything could more effectually dispel that illusion than the recent
proceeding of the Roman Pontiff. He virtually condemns and excommuni-
cates the whole English Church, sovereign, bishops, clergy, and laity, and
shuts the door against every scheme of comprehension, save that which
should take for its basis an entire and unconditional submission to the
spiritual authority of the Bishop of Rome.
** That it may please the Divine Head of the church, who is the true cf ntre
of unity, and the only infallible judge, to guide and strengthen us in these
days of rebuke and trial, to open our eyes to the dangers we are in by our
Digitized by
Google
268 MONTHLY INTELLIGENCE.
unbappj divisions, and to unite us in one holy bond of truth and peace^ of
faith and charity, is the earnest prayer,
*' Reverena and dear brethren, of
" Your affectionate friend and bishop,
"C. J. London.
" To the Rev. the Clergy of the city and
*• liberties of Westminster."
It is announced that Cardinal Wiseman, the new Archbishop of Wes-
minster, who is at present in Florence, proposes to pass through Paris on his
way to London. He will visit the Lrish College in Paris, which is about to
be considerably enlarged.
CONVERSIONS.
The Rev. W. H. Anderson, Vicar of St. Margaret's, Stamford, which parish
contains 30,000 inhabitants, has seceded from the Establishment, and, it is sup-
posed is about to join theChurch of Rome, if he has not done so already. On
Sunday evening he preached fur the last time in the establishment, and the
rumour of his resignation having spread over the town, caused such im-
mense numbers to flock to the church to hear his farewell sermon, that
hundreds could not gain admission into the spacious edifice. Every seat
and standing was occupied, but his hearers were disappointed, as he made
no allusion in the pulpit to his future proceedings, but told them at the
onset that those who came from curiosity would be disappointed. He then
E reached a most impressive discourse, and on the following morning took
is final leave of his parish and proceeded to London. The living of
Knighton, near Leicester, is attached to that of St. Margaret's, and in addi-
tion to a large private fortune, as well as extensive funds obtained from other
sources, the Rev. gentleman has bestowed nearly the whole in acts of charity.
It is well known that he and his household lived on the hardest £are, that
he might have the more to give to the poor. He succeeded the late Sir
Andrew Irvine, and has haa the living of St. Margaret's and Knighton
(both of which are now vacant) about four years. They are in the gift of
the Rev. Sir J. H. Seymour, Prebendary of St. Margaret's in Lincoln
Cathedral. — Stamford Mercury,
A very imposing ceremony took place on Sunday last, at the Catholic
chapel of Joseph Weld, Esq., Lulworth Castle, in which Henry A. Arden,
Esq. (a gentleman of the county town, Dorchester,) performed a prominent
part by making his public profession of that '^ Faith once delivered to the
saints."
BIRTH.
On the 7th of October, at 12, Dorset-square, the lady of J. V. Gandolfi
Esq., of a son.
MARRIAGE.
On the 21st of October, at St. Augustine's, Ramsgate, by the Rev. Thomas
Costigan, John Hardman Powell to Anns, eldest daughter of A.
Welby Pugin, Esa.
DEATHS.
On the 26th. of September, at 31, Montagu-square, Charles King, Esq.
of Broomfield-place, Essex, aged 75 years.
On the 4th of October, at St. Michael's Grove, Brompton, Elizabeth,
wife of iEneas MacDonnell, Esq.
On the 15th of October, John Christopher, Esq., of Gloucester
House, Southampton, and of Trekenning and Trevithick, Cornwall, deeply
regretted by his disconsolate widow and family.
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
i
Digitized by CjOOQ IC
Digitized by
Google
Live Music
Archive
Librivox
Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland
Museum of Art
Internet
Arcade
Console Living Room
Open Library
American
Libraries
TV News
Understanding
9/11